OF  THE 

U  N  I  VERS  ITY 
Of  ILLINOIS 

PRESENTED  E>Y 
THE  ESTATE 
OF 

DR.  AND  MRS.  S.  M.  WYLIE 
1950 

817 

Xr8 

\8>o4 

y.15 


I 


Return  this  book  on  or  before  the 
Latest  Date  stamped  below. 


University  of  Illinois  Library 


INAUGURATION  OF  WASHINGTON,  ON  THE  BALCONY  OF  THE  OLD  CITY  HALL,  NEW  YORK. 

FKONTiSFiEcE-Irviug,  Vol.  Fi.leeu— see  p.  115. 


THE  WORKS  OF 


WASHINGTON  IRVING 


LIFE  OF 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

PART  FOUR 


WITH  FRONTISPIECE 


NEW  YORK 

P.  F.  COLLIER  &  SON 

MCMIV 

15 


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LIFE  OF  GEORGE  WASHINGTON 


PART  FOUR 


A#,*.  * 


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CONTENTS 


P.4  AT  FOURTH 

[CONTINUED] 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Discontents  of  the  Army  at  Newburg — Memorial  of  the  Officers  to 
Congress — Anonymous  Papers  circulated  in  the  Camp — Meeting 
of  Officers  called — Address  of  Washington— Resolutions  in  Con¬ 
sequence — Letters  of  Washington  to  the  President — His  Opinion 
of  the  Anonymous  Addresses  and  their  Author  .  .  .  .19 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

News  of  Peace — Letter  of  Washington  in  Behalf  of  the  Army — 
Cessation  of  Hostilities  proclaimed — Order  of  the  Cincinnati 
formed — Letter  of  Washington  to  the  State  Governors — Mutiny 
in  the  Pennsylvania  Line — Letter  of  Washington  on  the  Subject 
— Tour  to  the  Northern  Posts . 31 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

The  Army  to  be  discharged — Parting  Address  of  Washington — 
Evacuation  of  New  York — Parting  Scene  of  Washington  with 
his  Officers  at  New  York — Washington  resigns  his  Commission 
to  Congress — Retires  to  Mount  Vernon . 44 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Washington  at  Mount  Vernon — A  Soldier’s  Repose — Plans  of  Do¬ 
mestic  Life — Kind  Offer  of  the  Council  of  Pennsylvania — His- 

(3) 


4 


Gontepts 


torical  Applications — News  of  Jacob  Van  Braam — Opening  of 
Spring — Agricultural  Life  resumed — Recollections  of  the  Fair¬ 
faxes — Meeting  of  the  Order  of  Cincinnati — Tour  of  Washing¬ 
ton  and  Dr.  Craik  to  the  West — Ideas  of  Internal  Improvement 
— Parting  with  Lafayette . 54 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

Scheme  of  Inland  Navigation — Shares  of  Stock  offered  to  Washing¬ 
ton — Declined — Rural  Improvements — The  Tax  of  Letter-writ¬ 
ing — The  Tax  of  Sitting  for  Likenesses — Ornamental  Gardening 
— Management  of  the  Estate — Domestic  Life — Visit  of  Mr.  Wat¬ 
son — Reverential  Awe  inspired  by  Washington — Irksome  to 
him — Instances  of  his  Festive  Gayety — Of  his  Laughing — Pas¬ 
sion  for  Hunting  revived — Death  of  Gen.  Greene — His  Char¬ 
acter — Washington’s  Regrets  and  Encomiums — Letters  to  the 
French  Noblemen . 67 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

Washington  doubts  the  Solidity  of  the  Confederation — Correspond¬ 
ence  with  John  Jay  on  the  Subject — Plan  of  a  Convention  of  all 
the  States  to  revise  the  Federal  System — Washington  heads  the 
Virginia  Delegation — Insurrection  in  Massachusetts — The  Con¬ 
vention — A  Federal  Constitution  organized — Ratified  .  .  .87 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

Washington  talked  of  for  the  Presidency — His  Letters  on  the 
Subject  expressing  his  Reluctance — His  Election — His  Prog¬ 
ress  to  the  Seat  of  Government — His  Reception  at  New  York — 

The  Inauguration . .  .  .  108 


^or}tei)t8 


5 


PART  FIFTH 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  New  Government — Domestic  and  Foreign  Relations — Washing¬ 
ton’s  anxious  Position — Its  Difficulties — Without  Cabinet  or 
Constitutional  Advisers — John  Jay — Hamilton — His  efficient 
Support  of  the  Constitution  and  Theoretic  Doubts — James 
Madison — Knox — His  Characteristics  ......  121 

CHAPTER  II. 

Washington’s  Privacy  beset  with  Visits  of  Compliment — Queries  as 
to  the  proper  Line  of  Conduct  in  his  Presidential  Intercourse — 
Opinions  of  Adams  and  Hamilton — Jefferson  as  to  the  Authors 
of  the  Minor  Forms  and  Ceremonies — His  whimsical  Anecdote 
of  the  first  Levee — Inaugural  Ball . 127 

CHAPTER  III. 

Journey  of  Mrs.  Washington  to  New  York — Honors  paid  her  in 
her  Progress — Receptions  at  the  Seat  of  Government — The 
President’s  Equipage . .  .  133 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Alarming  Illness  of  the  President — The  Senate  rejects  one  of  his 
Nominations — His  sensitive  Vindication  of  it — Death  of  his 
Mother— Her  Character— The  Executive  Departments  insti¬ 
tuted — Selection  of  Officers  for  the  Treasury  and  War  De¬ 
partments — Hamilton  instructed  to  report  a  Financial  Plan  at 
the  next  Session  of  Congress — Arrangement  of  the  Judiciary 
Department — Edmund  Randolph — Adjournment  of  Congress — 

Its  Character,  by  Fisher  Ames  ....  ...  138 


6 


<?or>tepts 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  Department  of  State  still  without  a  Head — Sketch  of  Jeffer¬ 
son’s  Character  and  Opinions — Deeply  immersed  in  French  Poli¬ 
tics  at  Paris — Gouverneur  Morris  abroad— Contrast  of  his  and 
Jefferson’s  Views  on  the  French  Crisis — News  of  the  French 
Revolution  in  America — Popular  Excitement — Washington’s 
cautious  Opinion  on  the  Subject — Hamilton’s  apprehensive 
View — Jefferson  offered  a  Place  in  the  Cabinet  as  Secretary 
of  State . 14-o 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Washington’s  Journey  through  the  Eastern  States — John  Hancock 
— Clashing  between  the  Civil  and  Municipal  Authorities  on  the 
President’s  Entry  into  Boston — A  Contest  of  Etiquette — Wash¬ 
ington’s  Account  of  his  Entry — His  Reception — A  new  Punc¬ 
tilio —  Address  of  the  Cincinnati  Society  —  Return  to  New 
York . 156 

ft 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Col.  John  Trumbull — Message  to  Washington  from  Lafayette — Jef¬ 
ferson’s  Embarkation  for  America — Washington  forwards  his 
Commission  as  Secretary  of  State — His  Acceptance  .  .  .162 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Reassembling  of  Congress — Financial  Condition  of  the  Country — Its 
Debt  at  Home  and  Abroad — Debts  of  the  States — Hamilton’s 
Report — Opposition  to  it — Dr.  Stuart’s  warning  Letter  to  Wash¬ 
ington — His  Reply — Jefferson’s  arrival  at  the  Seat  of  Gov¬ 
ernment — New  York  at  that  Period — Jefferson  apprehends 
Monarchial  Designs . 166 

* 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Assumption  of  the  State  Debts  discussed — Washington  in  Favor 
— A  Majority  of  Two  against  it — Hamilton’s  Appeal  to  Jeffer 


REMOTE  biw 

V  Vv  _ 

son  on  the  Subject — The  latter  arranges  for  a  Compromise — His 
Account  of  it — Adjustment  about  the  Saat  of  Government — As¬ 
sumption  carried — Treaty  of  Peace  with  the  Creeks — Cavilings 
about  Presidential  Etiquette — Washington’s  Defense — Adjourn¬ 
ment  of  Congress — Fancied  Harmony  of  the  Cabinet — Jefferson 
suspects  Hamilton  of  Finesse  in  procuring  his  Agency  in  the 
Assumption . 176 


CHAPTER  X. 

Lafayette  at  the  Head  of  the  Revolution  in  France — His  Letter  to 
Washington — Gouverneur  Morris’s  Opinion  of  his  Position — 
Washington’s  dubious  and  anxious  Views — Presented  by  La¬ 
fayette  with  the  Key  of  the  Bastile — Visits  Rhode  Island  and 
Mount  Vernon . 183 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Frontier  Difficulties  with  the  Indians— General  Harmer’s  Expedi¬ 
tion  against  them — Ambuscade  of  Col.  Hardin’s  Detachment — 
Escape  of  Capt.  Armstrong— A  second  Detachment  of  Col. 
Hardin  compelled  to  retreat — Washington’s  long  Anxiety  a<s 
to  the  Result  of  the  Enterprise — Final  Tidings  .  .  .188 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Congress  reassembles  at  Philadelphia — Residence  of  Washington  at 
the  new  Seat  of  Government — The  State  Carriage — Hamilton’s 
Financial  Arrangements — Impost  and  Excise  Bill — Passage  of 
a  Bill  for  a  National  Bank — Jefferson’s  Objections — Formation 
of  two  Political  Parties  under  Hamilton  and  Jefferson — Their 
different  Views — Dissatisfaction  of  Congress  at  the  Report  of 
Harmer’s  Expedition — Washington’s  Address  to  the  Seneca 
Chiefs — His  Desire  to  civilize  the  Savages— Kentucky  and  Ver¬ 
mont  admitted  into  the  Union — First  Congress  expires — A  new 
Expedition  projected  against  the  Hostile  Tribes  under  General 
St.  Clair — Washington’s  Solemn  Warning  on  taking  Leave  of 
him  . . 192 


8 


<?or}ter)ts 


CHAPTER  Xm. 

Washington’s  Tour  through  the  Southern  States — Letter  to  La¬ 
fayette-Gloomy  Picture  of  French  Affairs  by  Gouverneur 
Morris — His  Allusion  to  Lafayette — Lafayette  depicts  the 
Troubles  of  a  Patriot  Leader— Washington’s  Reply — Jefferson’s 
ardent  Views  of  the  French  Revolution — Distrust  of  John 
Adams— His  Contributions  to  “Fenno’s  Gazette” — Reprint  of 
Paine’s  Rights  of  Man — Flight  and  Recapture  of  Louis  XVI. — 
Jefferson  communicates  the  News  to  Washington — His  satisfac¬ 
tion  when  the  King  accepts  the  Constitution  ....  198 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Rural  Hours  at  Mount  Vernon — Assembling  of  Second  Congress — 
Washington’s  opening  Speech — Two  Expeditions  organized 
against  the  Indians,  under  Scott  and  Wilkinson — Their  feeble 
Result — Third  Expedition  under  St.  Clair — His  disastrous  Con¬ 
test  and  dismal  Retreat — How  Washington  received  the  In¬ 
telligence  .  .  206 


CHAPTER  XV. 

The  Apportionment  Bill — Washington’s  Veto — His  Concern  at  the 
growing  Asperities  of  Congress — Intended  Retirement — Jeffer¬ 
son’s  determination  to  retire  at  the  same  Time —Remonstrance 
of  Washington — His  Request  to  Madison  to  prepare  Valedictory 
— Wayne  appointed  to  succeed  St.  Clair — Congress  adjourns — 
Washington  at  Mount  Vernon — Suggests  Topics  for  his  Fare¬ 
well  Address — Madison’s  Draft — Jefferson  urges  his  continu¬ 
ance  . 217 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Jefferson’s  Suspicions — Contemned  by  Hamilton — Washington’s 
Expostulation — Complains  of  the  Conduct  of  Freneau’s  Paper 
— Hamilton  and  Randolph  urge  him  to  a  Re-election — A  war¬ 
ring  Cabinet — Hamilton’s  attack  on  Jefferson — Washington’s 


Qoptepts 


9 


healing  Admonition — Replies  of  the  two  Secretaries — Continued 
Hostility  to  the  Excise  Law — Washington’s  Proclamation — Re¬ 
newed  Effort  to  allay  the  Discord  in  his  Cabinet  .  .  .  229 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Washington  unanimously  re-elected — Opening  of  Session  of  Con¬ 
gress — Topics  of  the  President’s  Speech — Abortive  attack  upon 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury — Washington  installed  for  his 
Second  Term . 244 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Gouverneur  Morris  Minister  at  the  French  Court — His  Representa¬ 
tions  of  the  State  of  Affairs — Washington’s  Concern  for  La¬ 
fayette — Jefferson  annoyed  at  his  Forebodings — Overthrow  of 
the  French  Monarchy — Imprisonment  of  Lafayette — Jefferson 
concerned,  but  not  discouraged  at  the  Republican  Massacres — 
Washington  shocked — His  Letter  to  the  Marchioness  La¬ 
fayette  . 248 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Washington’s  Entrance  upon  his  Second  Term — Gloomy  Auspices — 
Execution  of  Louis  XVI. — France  declares  War  against  Eng¬ 
land — Belligerent  Excitement  in  America — Proclamation  of 
Neutrality — French  Mission  to  the  United  States — Genet  ar¬ 
rives  in  Charleston — His  Reception  in  Philadelphia — Views  of 
Jefferson  and  Hamilton — Washington’s  dispassionate  Opin¬ 
ion  . 254 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Genet  presents  his  Letter  of  Credence — His  Diplomatic  Speech — 
Washington’s  Conversation  with  Jefferson — Capture  of  the  Ship 
“Grange”  and  other  British  Vessels — Question  of  Restitution — 
Dissatisfaction  of  Genet — Demands  Release  of  two  American 
Citizens — Washington’s  Sensitiveness  to  the  Attacks  of  the 
Press — His  unshaken  Determination  .  0  261 


10 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Washington  called  to  Mount  Vernon — The  case  of  the  “Little 
Sarah”  comes  up  in  his  Absence — Governor  Mifflin  determined 
to  prevent  her  Departure — Rage  of  Genet — Jefferson  urges  De¬ 
tention  of  the  Privateer  until  the  President’s  Return — Evasive 
Assurance  of  Genet — Distrust  of  Hamilton  and  Knox — Wash¬ 
ington  returns  to  Philadelphia — A  Cabinet  Council — Its  De¬ 
termination  communicated  to  Genet — The  Vessel  sails  in  De¬ 
fiance  of  it — Formation  of  the  Democratic  Society — The  Recall 
of  Genet  determined  on — The  Ribald  Lampoon — Washington’s 
Outburst . 267 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Threatened  Dissolution  of  the  Cabinet — Action  between  the  “Am¬ 
buscade”  and  “Boston” — Triumphant  return  of  the  former  to 
New  York — A  French  Fleet  arrives  same  Day — Excitement  of 
the  People — Genet  arrives  in  the  midst  of  it — His  enthusiastio 
Reception — Is  informed  by  Jefferson  of  the  Measures  for  his 
Recall — His  Rage  and  Reply — Decline  of  his  Popularity  .  .  275 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Neutrality  endangered  by  Great  Britain — Her  Ill-advised  Measures 
— Detention  of  Vessels  bound  for  France — Impressment  of 
American  Seamen — Persistence  in  holding  the  Western  Posts 
— Congress  assembles  in  December — The  President’s  opening 
Speech— His  Censure  of  Genet — The  Vice-President’s  Allusion 
to  it — The  Administration  in  a  Minority  in  the  House — Procla¬ 
mation  of  Neutrality  sustained — Jefferson’s  Report — Retires 
from  the  Cabinet — His  parting  Rebuke  to  Genet — His  Char¬ 
acter  of  Washington . 288 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Debate  on  Jefferson’s  Report  on  Commercial  Intercourse — A  Naval 
Force  proposed  for  the  Protection  of  Commerce  against  Pirat¬ 
ical  Cruisers — Further  Instances  of  the  Audacity  of  Genet — His 


Soptepts 


11 


Recall — Arrival  of  his  Successor — Irritation  excited  by  British 
Captures  of  American  Vessels — Preparations  for  Defense — Em¬ 
bargo — Intense  Excitement  at  “British  Spoliations’’ — Partisans 
of  France  in  the  ascendant — A  Chance  for  Accommodating 
Difficulties — Jefferson’s  Hopes  of  Reconciliation — The  War  Cry 
uppermost — Washington  determines  to  send  a  Special  Envoy  to 
the  British  Government — Jefferson’s  Letter  to  Tench  Coxe  .  291 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

James  Monroe  appointed  Minister  to  France  in  place  of  Gouverneur 
Morris  recalled — His  Reception — Pennsylvania  Insurrection — 
Proclamation  of  Washington — Perseverance  of  the  Insurgents 
— Second  Proclamation — The  President  proceeds  against  them 
— General  Morgan — Lawrence  Lewis — Washington  arranges  a 
Plan  of  Military  Operations — Returns  to  Philadelphia,  leav¬ 
ing  Lee  in  Command — Submission  of  the  Insurgents — The  Presi¬ 
dent’s  Letter  on  the  Subject  to  Jay,  Minister  at  London  .  .  301 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Washington’s  Denunciation  of  Self-created  Societies — Not  relished 
by  Congress — Campaign  of  General  Wayne — Hamilton  reports 
a  Plan  for  the  Redemption  of  the  Public  Debt — And  retires 
from  his  Post  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury — Is  succeeded  by 
Oliver  Wolcott — Resignation  of  Knox — Succeeded  by  Timothy 
Pickering — Close  of  the  Session . 310 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Washington’s  Anxiety  about  the  Progress  of  the  Negotiation  with 
England — Jay’s  Treaty  arrives  for  Ratification — Predisposition 
to  condemn— Return  of  Jay — Adet  succeeds  Fauchet  as  Minis¬ 
ter  from  France — The  Treaty  laid  before  the  Senate— Ratified 
with  a  Qualification — A  Novel  Question — Popular  Discontent — 
Abstract  of  the  Treaty  published — Violent  Opposition  to  it — 
Washington  resolved  to  Ratify — His  Resolution  suspended — 
Goes  to  Mount  Vernon— Reply  to  an  Address  from  Boston 
— Increasing  Clamor . 316 


12 


<?oi}ter>t8 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Washington  recalled  to  the  Seat  of  Government — Conduct  of  Ran¬ 
dolph  brought  in  Question — Treaty  signed — Resignation  of  Ran¬ 
dolph — His  Correspondence  with  Washington— Unlimited  Dis¬ 
closure  permitted — Appearance  of  his  Vindication — Pickering 
transferred  to  the  Department  of  State — McHenry  appointed 
Secretary  of  War — Arrival  of  George  Washington  Lafayette  .  324 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Meeting  of  Congress — Washington’s  Official  Summary  of  the 
Events  of  the  Year — Cordial  Response  of  the  Senate — Partial 
Demur  of  the  House — Washington’s  Position  and  Feelings 
with  regard  to  England,  as  shown  by  himself — Mr.  Adet  pre¬ 
sents  the  Colors  of  France — The  Treaty  returned— Proceedings 
thereupon — Thomas  Pinckney  resigns  as  Minister  at  London— 
Rufus  King  appointed  in  his  place — Washington’s  View  of  the 
Political  Campaign — Jefferson’s  Fears  of  an  Attempt  to  sow 
Dissension  between  him  and  Washington — Mr.  Monroe  recalled, 
and  C.  C.  Pinckney  appointed  in  his  Stead — Re£ .  Jtful  Policy  of 
France . 334 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

Washington’s  Farewell  Address — Meets  the  two  Houses  of  Congress 
for  the  last  Time — His  Speech — Replies  of  the  Senate  and  House 
— Mr.  Giles — Andrew  Jackson — Offensive  Publication  of  the 
French  Minister — John  Adams  declared  President — Washing¬ 
ton’s  Letter  to  Knox  on  the  Eve  of  his  Retirement —The  Spuri¬ 
ous  Letters — His  Farewell  Dinner — John  Adams  takes  the  Oath 
of  Office — Greetings  of  Washington  at  the  close  of  the 
Ceremony . 347 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Washington  at  Mount  Vernon — Influx  of  strange  Faces — Lawrence 
Lewis — Miss  Nelly  Custis — Washington’s  Counsel  in  Love  Mat 
ters — A  Romantic  Episode — Return  of  George  Washington  La¬ 
fayette  . .  .  358 


^ORtepts 


13 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

Parting  Address  of  the  French  Directory  to  Mr.  Monroe — The  new 
American  Minister  ordered  to  leave  the  Republic — Congress  con¬ 
vened — Measures  of  Defense  recommended — Washington’s  Com 
cern — Appointment  of  three  Envoys  Extraordinary — Doubts 
their  Success — Hears  of  an  old  Companion  in  Arms — The  three 
Ministers  and  Talleyrand — Their  degrading  Treatment — Threat¬ 
ened  War  with  France — Washington  appointed  Commander-in- 
chief — Arranges  for  three  Major-Generals— Knox  aggrieved  .  361 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

Washington  taxed  anew  with  the  Cares  of  Office — Correspondence 
with  Lafayette — A  Marriage  at  Mount  Vernon — Appointment 
of  a  Minister  to  the  French  Republic — Washington’s  Surprise— 

His  Activity  on  his  Estate — Political  Anxieties— Concern  about 
the  Army . 383 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Washington  digests  a  Plan  for  the  Management  of  his  Estate— His 
views  in  regard  to  a  Military  Academy — Letter  to  Hamilton— 

His  Last  Hours — The  Funeral — The  Will — Its  Provisions  in  re¬ 
gard  to  his  Slaves — Proceedings  of  Congress  on  his  Death — Con¬ 
clusion  .  ....  390 


APPENDIX. 

I.  Portraits  of  Washington . 403 

II.  Washington’s  Farewell  Address . 433 

III.  Proceedings  of  Congress  in  consequence  of  the  Death  of  Wash¬ 

ington  . 459 

IV.  Washington’s  Will . 465 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON 


PART  FOURTH 

(i CONTINUED ) 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-ONE 

Discontents  of  the  Army  at  Newburg — Memorial  of  the  Officers  to 
Congress — Anonymous  Papers  circulated  in  the  Camp — Meeting 
of  Officers  called — Address  of  Washington — Resolutions  in  Con¬ 
sequence — Letters  of  Washington  to  the  President — His  Opinion 
of  the  Anonymous  Addresses  and  their  Author 

The  anxious  fears  of  Washington,  in  regard  to  what 
might  take  place  on  the  approaching  reduction  of  the  army, 
were  in  some  degree  realized.  After  the  meeting  with  the 
French  army  at  Verplanck’s  Point,  he  had  drawn  up  his 
forces  to  his  former  encampment  at  Newburg,  where  he 
established  his  headquarters  for  the  winter.  In  the  leisure 
and  idleness  of  a  winter  camp  the  discontents  of  the  army 
had  time  to  ferment.  The  arrearages  of  pay  became  a  topic 
of  constant  and  angry  comment,  as  well  as  the  question 
whether  the  resolution  of  Congress,  granting  half  pay  to 
officers  who  should  serve  to  the  end  of  the  war,  would  be 
carried  into  effect.  Whence  were  the  funds  to  arise  for  such 
half  pay?  The  national  treasury  was  empty;  the  States 
were  slow  to  tax  themselves;  the  resource  of  foreign  loans 
was  nearly  exhausted.  The  articles  of  confederation  re¬ 
quired  the  concurrence  of  nine  States  to  any  act  appropriate 

(19) 


20 


Worlds  of  U/asl?ir)<$tOQ  Iruir^ 


ing  public  money.  There  had  never  been  nine  States  in 
favor  of  the  half-pay  establishment ;  was  it  probable  that  as 
many  would  concur  in  applying  any  scanty  funds  that  might 
accrue,  and  which  would  be  imperiously  demanded  for  many 
other  purposes,  to  the  payment  of  claims  known  to  be  un¬ 
popular,  and  to  the  support  of  men,  who,  the  necessity  for 
their  services  being  at  an  end,  might  be  regarded  as  drones 
in  the  community? 

The  result  of  these  boding  conferences  was  a  memorial  to 
Congress  in  December,  from  the  officers  in  camp,  on  behalf 
of  the  army,  representing  the  hardships  of  the  case,  and  pro¬ 
posing  that  a  specific  sum  should  be  granted  them  for  the 
money  actually  due,  and  as  a  commutation  for  half  pay. 
Three  officers  were  deputed  to  present  the  memorial  to  Con¬ 
gress,  and  watch  over  and  promote  its  success. 

The  memorial  gave  rise  to  animated  and  long  discussions 
in  Congress.  Some  members  were  for  admitting  the  claims 
as  founded  on  engagements  entered  into  by  the  nation ;  oth¬ 
ers  were  for  referring  them  to  the  respective  States  of  the 
claimants.  The  winter  passed  away  without  any  definite 
measures  on  the  subject. 

On  the  tenth  day  of  March,  1783,  an  anonymous  paper 
was  circulated  through  the  camp,  calling  a  meeting  at  eleven 
o’clock  the  next  day,  of  the  general  and  field-officers,  of  an 
officer  from  each  company,  and  a  delegate  from  the  medical 
staff,  to  consider  a  letter  just  received  from  their  representa¬ 
tives  in  Philadelphia,  and  what  measures,  if  any,  should  be 
adopted  to  obtain  that  redress  of  grievances  which  they 
seemed  to  have  solicited  in  vain. 

On  the  following  morning  an  anonymous  address  to  the 
officers  of  the  army  was  privately  put  in  circulation.  It  pro¬ 
fessed  to  be  from  a  fellow-soldier,  who  had  shared  in  their 


Cife  of  U/asfyip^top 


*51 


toils  and  mingled  in  their  dangers,  and  who  till  very  lately 
had  believed  in  the  justice  of  his  country. 

“After  a  pursuit  of  seven  long  years,”  observed  he,  “the 
object  for  which  we  set  out  is  at  length  brought  within  our 
reach.  Yes,  my  friends,  that  suffering  courage  of  yours 
was  active  once;  it  has  conducted  the  United  States  of 
America  through  a  doubtful  and  bloody  war;  it  has  placed 
her  in  the  chair  of  independency,  and  peace  returns  to  bless 
— whom?  a  country  willing  to  redress  your  wrongs,  cherish 
your  worth,  and  reward  your  services?  a  country  courting 
your  return  to  private  life,  with  tears  of  gratitude  and  smiles 
of  admiration,  longing  to  divide  with  you  that  independency 
which  your  gallantry  has  given,  and  those  riches  which  your 
wounds  have  preserved?  Is  this  the  case?  or  is  it  rather  a 
country  that  tramples  upon  your  rights,  disdains  your  cries, 
and  insults  your  distresses?  Have  you  not  more  than  once 
suggested  your  wishes,  and  made  known  your  wants  to  Con¬ 
gress — wants  and  wishes  which  gratitude  and  policy  should 
have  anticipated,  rather  than  evaded?  And  have  you  not 
lately,  in  the  meek  language  of  entreating  memorials,  begged 
from  their  justice  what  you  could  no  longer  expect  from 
their  favor?  How  have  you  been  answered?  Let  the  letter, 
which  you  are  called  to  consider  to-morrow,  make  reply ! 

“If  this,  then,  be  your  treatment,  while  the  swords  you 
wear  are  necessary  for  the  defense  of  America,  what  have 
you  to  expect  from  peace,  when  your  voice  shall  sink,  and 
your  strength  dissipate  by  division;  when  those  very  swords, 
the  instruments  and  companions  of  your  glory,  shall  be  taken 
from  your  sides  and  no  remaining  mark  of  military  distinc¬ 
tion  left  but  your  wants,  infirmities  and  scars?  Can  you 
then  consent  to  be  the  only  sufferers  by  this  Revolution, 
and,  retiring  from  the  field,  grow  old  in  povery,  wretched- 


22 


U/or^s  of  U/as^irj^toi)  Iruir>$ 


ness  and  contempt?  Can  you  consent  to  wade  through  the 
vile  mire  of  dependency,  and  owe  the  miserable  remnant  of 
that  life  to  charity  which  has  hitherto  been  spent  in  honor? 
If  you  can,  go,  and  carry  with  you  the  jest  of  tories,  and  the 
scorn  of  whigs;  the  ridicule,  and,  what  is  worse,  the  pity  of 
the  world!  Go,  starve  and  be  forgotten!  But  if  your  spirits 
should  revolt  at  this;  if  you  have  sense  enough  to  discover, 
and  spirit  sufficient  to  oppose  tyranny,  under  whatever  garb 
it  may  assume,  whether  it  be  the  plain  coat  of  republican' 
ism,  or  the  splendid  robe  ©f  royalty;  if  you  have  yet  learned 
to  discriminate  between  a  people  and  a  cause,  between  men 
and  principles;  awake,  attend  to  your  situation,  and  redress 
yourselves!  If  the  present  moment  be  lost,  ©very  future 
effort  is  in  vain;  and  your  threats  then  will  be  as  empty  as 
your  entreaties  now. 

“I  would  advise  you,  therefore,  to  come  to  some  final 
opinion  upon  what  you  can  bear,  and  what  you  will  suffer. 
If  your  determination  be  in  any  proportion  to  your  wrongs, 
carry  your  appeal  from  the  justice  to  the  fears  of  govern¬ 
ment.  Change  the  milk-and-water  style  of  your  last  memo¬ 
rial.  Assume  a  bolder  tone,  decent,  but  lively,  spirited  and 
determined;  and  suspect  the  man  who  would  advise  to  more 
moderation  and  longer  forbearance.  Let  two  or  three  men, 
who  can  feel  as  well  as  write,  be  appointed  to  draw  up  your 
last  remonstrance,  for  I  would  no  longer  give  it  the  suing, 
soft,  unsuccessful  epithet  of  memorial.  Let  it  represent  in 
language,  that  will  neither  dishonor  you  by  its  rudeness,  nor 
betray  you  by  its  fears,  what  has  been  promised  by  Con¬ 
gress,  and  what  has  been  performed ;  how  long  and  how  pa¬ 
tiently  you  have  suffered;  how  little  you  have  asked,  and 
how  much  of  that  little  has  been  denied.  Tell  them  that, 
though  you  were  the  first,  and  would  wish  to  be  the  last,  to 


Cife  of  U/a8^ip<^tor> 


23 


encounter  danger,  though  despair  itself  can  never  drive  you 
into  dishonor,  it  may  drive  you  from  the  field;  that  the 
wound,  often  irritated  and  never  healed,  may  at  length  be¬ 
come  incurable;  and  that  the  slightest  mark  of  indignity 
from  Congress  now,  must  operate  like  the  grave,  and  part 
you  forever;  that,  in  any  political  event,  the  army  has  its 
alternative.  If  peace,  that  nothing  shall  separate  you  from 
your  arms  but  death ;  if  war,  that  courting  the  auspices,  and 
inviting  the  direction  of  your  illustrious  leader,  you  will  re¬ 
tire  to  some  unsettled  country,  smile  in  your  turn,  and  ‘mock 
when  their  fear  cometh  on.’  But  let  it  represent,  also,  that 
should  they  comply  with  the  request  of  your  late  memorial, 
it  would  make  you  more  happy  and  them  more  respecta¬ 
ble;  that,  while  war  should  continue,  you  would  follow 
their  standard  into  the  field;  and  when  it  came  to  an 
end  you  would  withdraw  into  the  shade  of  private  life, 
and  give  the  world  another  subject  of  wonder  and  ap¬ 
plause;  an  army  victorious  over  its  enemies,  victorious 
over  itself.” 

This  bold  and  eloquent,  but  dangerous  appeal,  founded 
as  it  was  upon  the  wrongs  and  sufferings  of  a  gallant  army 
and  the  shameful  want  of  sympathy  in  tardy  legislators, 
called  for  the  full  exercise  of  Washington’s  characteristic 
firmness,  caution  and  discrimination.  In  general  orders  he 
noticed  the  anonymous  paper,  but  expressed  his  confidence 
that  the  good  sense  of  officers  would  prevent  them  from  pay¬ 
ing  attention  to  such  an  irregular  invitation ;  which  he  repro¬ 
bated  as  disorderly.  With  a  view  to  counteract  its  effects, 
he  requested  a  like  meeting  of  officers  on  the  15th  instant, 
to  hear  the  report  of  the  committee  deputed  to  Congress. 
“After  mature  deliberation,”  added  he,  “they  will  devise 
what  further  measures  ought  to  be  adopted  as  most  rational 


24  Works  of  Wasbio^tor}  Iruii^^ 

and  best  calculated  to  obtain  the  just  and  important  object 
in  view.” 

On  the  following  day  another  anonymous  address  was 
circulated,  written  in  a  more  moderate  tone,  but  to  the  same 
purport  with  the  first,  and  affecting  to  construe  the  general 
orders  into  an  approbation  of  the  object  sought;  only  chang¬ 
ing  the  day  appointed  for  the  meeting.  “Till  now,”  it  ob¬ 
served,  “the  commander-in-chief  has  regarded  the  steps  you 
have  taken  for  redress  with  good  wishes  alone ;  his  ostensible 
silence  has  authorized  your  meetings,  and  his  private  opinion 
sanctified  your  claims.  Had  he  disliked  the  object  in  view 
would  not  the  same  sense  of  duty  which  forbade  you  from 
meeting  on.  the  third  day  of  the  week  have  forbidden  you 
from  meeting  on  the  seventh?  Is  not  the  same  subject  held 
up  to  your  view?  and  has  it  not  passed  the  seal  of  office,  and 
taken  all  the  solemnity  of  an  order?  This  will  give  system 
to  your  proceedings  and  stability  to  your  resolves,”  etc., 
etc. 

On  Saturday,  the  15th  of  March,  the  meeting  took  place. 
Washington  had  previously  sent  for  the  officers,  one  by  one, 
in  private,  and  enlarged  on  the  loss  of  character  to  the  whole 
army  that  would  result  from  intemperate  resolutions.  At 
the  meeting,  General  Gates  was  called  to  the  chair.  Wash¬ 
ington  rose  and  apologized  for  appearing  there,  which  he 
had  not  intended  to  do  when  he  issued  the  order  directing  the 
assemblage.  The  diligence,  however,  which  had  been  used 
in  circulating  anonymous  writings  rendered  it  necessary  he 
should  give  his  sentiments  to  the  army  on  the  nature  and 
tendency  of  them.  He  had  taken  this  opportunity  to  do  so, 
and  had  committed  his  thoughts  to  writing,  which,  with  the 
indulgence  of  his  brother  officers,  he  would  take  the  liberty 
of  reading  to  them. 


Cife  of  U/asf?ir?<$tor) 


25 


He  then  proceeded  to  read  a  forcible  and  feeling  address, 
pointing  out  the  irregularity  and  impropriety  of  the  recent 
anonymous  summons,  and  the  dangerous  nature  of  the 
anonymous  address ;  a  production,  as  he  observed,  ad¬ 
dressed  more  to  the  feelings  and  passions  than  to  the  judg¬ 
ment  ;  drawn  with  great  art,  calculated  to  impress  the  mind 
with  an  idea  of  premeditated  injustice  in  the  sovereign  power 
of  the  United  States,  and  to  rouse  all  those  resentments 
which  must  unavoidably  flow  from  such  a  belief. 

On  these  principles  he  had  opposed  the  irregular  and 
hasty  meeting  appointed  in  the  anonymous  summons,  not 
from  a  disinclination  to  afford  officers  every  opportunity, 
consistent  with  their  own  honor  and  the  dignity  of  the  army, 
to  make  known  their  grievances.  “If  my  conduct  hereto¬ 
fore,”  said  he,  “has  not  evinced  to  you  that  I  have  been  a 
faithful  friend  to  the  army,  my  declaration  of  it  at  this  time 
would  be  equally  unavailing  and  improper.  But  as  I  was 
among  the  first  who  embarked  in  the  cause  of  our  common 
country ;  as  I  have  never  left  your  side  one  moment,  but 
when  called  from  you  on  public  duty ;  as  I  have  been  the 
constant  companion  and  witness  of  your  distresses,  and  not 
among  the  last  to  feel  and  acknowledge  your  merits;  as  I 
have  ever  considered  my  own  military  reputation  as  insepa¬ 
rably  connected  with  that  of  the  army ;  as  my  heart  has  ever 
expanded  with  joy  when  I  have  heard  its  praises,  and  my 
indignation  has  arisen  when  the  mouth  of  detraction  has 
been  opened  against  it ;  it  can  scarcely  be  supposed  at  this 
last  stage  of  the  war  that  I  am  indifferent  to  its  inter¬ 
ests.  .  .  . 

“For  myself,”  observes  he,  in  another  part  of  his  ad¬ 
dress,  “a  recollection  of  the  cheerful  assistance  and  prompt 

obedience  I  have  experienced  from  you  under  every  vicissi- 

Vol.  XV. — *  *  *  2 


26 


U/orks  of  U/asfyip^tor)  Iruii?$ 


tude  of  fortune,  and  the  sincere  affection  I  feel  for  an  army 
X  have  so  long  had  the  honor  to  command,  will  oblige  me  to 
declare  in  this  public  and  solemn  manner  that  for  the  attain¬ 
ment  of  complete  justice  for  all  your  toils  and  dangers,  and 
the  gratification  of  every  wish,  so  far  as  may  be  done  con¬ 
sistently  with  the  great  duty  I  owe  my  country  and  those 
powers  we  are  bound  to  respect,  you  may  fully  command  my 
services  to  the  utmost  extent  of  my  abilities. 

“"While  I  give  you  these  assurances,  and  pledge  myself 
in  the  most  unequivocal  manner  to  exert  whatever  abilities  I 
am  possessed  of  in  your  favor,  let  me  entreat  you,  gentle¬ 
men,  on  your  part,  not  to  take  any  measures  which,  viewed 
in  the  calm  light  of  reason,  will  lessen  the  dignity  and  sully 
the  glory  you  have  hitherto  maintained ;  let  me  request  you 
to  rely  on  the  plighted  faith  of  your  country,  and  place  a 
full  confidence  in  the  purity  of  the  intentions  of  Congress; 
that,  previous  to  your  dissolution  as  an  army,  they  will  cause 
all  your  accounts  to  be  fairly  liquidated,  as  directed  in  the 
resolutions  which  were  published  to  you  two  days  ago ;  and 
that  they  will  adopt  the  most  effectual  measures  in  their 
power  to  render  ample  justice  to  you  for  your  faithful  and 
meritorious  services.  And  let  me  conjure  you,  in  the  name 
of  our  common  country,  as  you  value  your  own  sacred  honor, 
as  you  respect  the  rights  of  humanity,  and  as  you  regard  the 
military  and  national  character  of  America,  to  express  your 
utmost  horror  and  detestation  of  the  man  who  wishes,  under 
any  specious  pretenses,  to  overturn  the  liberties  of  our  coun¬ 
try;  and  who  wickedly  attempts  to  open  the  flood-gates  of 
civil  discord,  and  deluge  our  rising  empire  in  blood.  By 
thus  determining  and  thus  acting,  you  will  pursue  the  plain 
and  direct  road  to  the  attainment  of  your  wishes;  you  will 
defeat  the  insidious  designs  of  our  enemies,  who  are  com- 


Cife  of  lI/asbii?<$toi? 


27 


pelled  to  resort  from  open  force  to  secret  artifice;  you  will 
give  one  more  distinguished  proof  of  unexampled  patriotism 
and  patient  virtue,  rising  superior  to  the  pressure  of  the 
most  complicated  sufferings;  and  you  will,  by  the  dignity 
of  your  conduct,  afford  occasion  for  posterity  to  say,  when 
speaking  of  the  glorious  example  you  have  exhibited  to 
mankind  —  ‘Had  this  day  been  wanting,  the  world  had 
never  seen  the  last  stage  of  perfection  to  which  human 
nature  is  capable  of  attaining.  ’  ” 

After  he  had  concluded  the  address,  he  observed,  that  as 
a  corroborating  testimony  of  the  good  disposition  in  Congress 
toward  the  army,  he  would  communicate  to  them  a  letter  re¬ 
ceived  from  a  worthy  member  of  that  body,  who  on  all  occa¬ 
sions  had  approved  himself  their  fast  friend.  He  produced 
an  able  letter  from  the  Hon.  Joseph  Jones,  which,  while  it 
pointed  out  the  difficulties  and  embarrassments  of  Congress, 
held  up  very  forcibly  the  idea  that  the  army  would,  at  all 
events,  be  generously  dealt  with. 

Major  Shaw,  who  was  present,  and  from  whose  memoir 
we  note  this  scene,  relates  that  "Washington,  after  reading 
the  first  paragraph  of  the  letter,  made  a  short  pause,  took 
out  his  spectacles,  and  begged  the  indulgence  of  his  audience 
while  he  put  them  on,  observing  at  the  same  time  that  he 
had  groivn  gray  in  their  service ,  and  now  found  himself 
growing  blind.  “There  was  something,”  adds  Shaw,  “so 
natural,  so  unaffected,  in  this  appeal,  as  rendered  it  superior 
to  the  most  studied  oratory ;  it  forced  its  way  to  the  heart, 
and  you  might  see  sensibility  moisten  every  eye.” 

“Happy  for  America,”  continues  Major  Shaw,  “that  she 
has  a  patriot  army,  and  equally  so  that  Washington  is  its 
leader.  I  rejoice  in  the  opportunity  I  have  had  of  seeing 
this  great  man  in  a  variety  of  situations — calm  and  intrepid 


28 


U/or^s  of  U/asI?ip<$tor)  Iruip<$ 


when  the  battle  raged;  patient  and  persevering  under  the 
pressure  of  misfortune ;  moderate  and  possessing  himself  in 
the  full  career  of  victory.  Great  as  these  qualifications  de¬ 
servedly  render  him,  he  never  appeared  to  me  more  truly  so 
than  at  the  assembly  we  have  been  speaking  of.  On  other 
occasions  he  has  been  supported  by  the  exertions  of  an  army 
and  the  countenance  of  his  friends ;  but  on  this  he  stood  sin¬ 
gle  and  alone.  There  was  no  saying  where  the  passions  of 
an  army  which  were  not  a  little  inflamed  might  lead ;  but  it 
was  generally  allowed  that  further  forbearance  was  danger¬ 
ous,  and  moderation  had  ceased  to  be  a  virtue.  Under  these 
circumstances  he  appeared,  not  at  the  head  of  his  troops, 
but,  as  it  were,  in  opposition  to  them;  and  for  a  dreadful 
moment  the  interests  of  the  army  and  its  general  seemed  to 
be  in  competition!  He  spoke — every  doubt  was  dispelled, 
and  the  tide  of  patriotism  rolled  again  in  its  wonted  course. 
Illustrious  man !  What  he  says  of  the  army  may  with  equal 
justice  be  applied  to  his  own  character— ‘Had  this  day  been 
wanting,  the  world  had  never  seen  the  last  stage  of  perfec¬ 
tion  to  which  human  nature  is  capable  of  attaining.’  ”  * 

The  moment  Washington  retired  from  the  assemblage,  a 
resolution  was  moved  by  the  warm-hearted  Knox,  seconded 
by  General  Putnam,  and  passed  unanimously,  assuring  him 
that  the  officers  reciprocated  his  affectionate  expressions  with 
the  greatest  sincerity  of  which  the  human  heart  is  capable. 
Then  followed  resolutions  declaring  that  no  circumstances  of 
distress  or  danger  should  induce  a  conduct  calculated  to  sully 
the  reputation  and  glory  acquired  at  the  price  of  their  blood 
and  eight  years’  faithful  services;  that  they  continued  to 
have  an  unshaken  confidence  in  the  justice  of  Congress  and 


*  Quincy’s  Memoir  of  Major  Shaw,  p.  104. 


Cife  of  U/asf?ir}$top 


29 


their  country;  and  that  the  commander-in-chief  should  be 
requested  to  write  to  the  President  of  Congress,  earnestly 
entreating  a  speedy  decision  on  the  late  address  forwarded 
by  a  committee  of  the  army. 

A  letter  was  accordingly  written  by  Washington,  breath¬ 
ing  that  generous,  yet  well-tempered  spirit,  with  which  he 
ever  pleaded  the  cause  of  the  army. 

‘  ‘  The  result  of  the  proceedings  of  the  grand  convention  of 
officers,”  said  he,  “which  I  have  the  honor  of  inclosing  to 
your  Excellency  for  the  inspection  of  Congress,  will,  I  flat¬ 
ter  myself,  be  considered  as  the  last  glorious  proof  of  patriot¬ 
ism  which  could  have  been  given  by  men  who  aspired  to  the 
distinction  of  a  patriot  army,  and  will  not  only  confirm  their 
claim  to  the  justice,  but  will  increase  their  title  to  the  grati¬ 
tude  of  their  country. 

“Having  seen  the  proceedings  on  the  part  of  the  army 
terminate  with  perfect  unanimity,  and  in  a  manner  entirely 
consonant  to  my  wishes;  being  impressed  with  the  liveliest 
sentiments  of  affection  for  those  who  have  so  long,  so  pa¬ 
tiently  and  so  cheerfully  suffered  and  fought  under  my  im¬ 
mediate  direction;  having,  from  motives  of  justice,  duty 
and  gratitude,  spontaneously  offered  myself  as  an  advocate 
for  their  rights ;  and  having  been  requested  to  write  to  your 
Excellency,  earnestly  entreating  the  most  speedy  decision  of 
Congress  upon  the  subjects  of  the  late  address  from  the 
army  to  that  honorable  body ;  it  only  remains  for  me  to 
perform  the  task  I  have  assumed,  and  to  intercede  on  their 
behalf,  as  I  now  do,  that  the  sovereign  power  will  be  pleased 
to  verify  the  predictions  I  have  pronounced,  and  the  con¬ 
fidence  the  army  have  reposed  in  the  justice  of  their 
country.” 

After  referring  to  former  representations  made  by  him 


30 


ll/or^s  of  U/asbir^oq  Irvii)<$ 


to  Congress,  on  the  subject  of  a  half  pay  to  be  granted  to 
officers  for  life,  he  adds:  “If,  besides  the  simple  payment 
of  their  wages,  a  further  compensation  is  not  due  to  the 
sufferings  and  sacrifices  of  the  officers,  then  have  I  been  mis¬ 
taken  indeed.  If  the  whole  army  have  not  merited  what¬ 
ever  a  grateful  people  can  bestow,  then  have  I  been  beguiled 
by  prejudice  and  built  opinion  on  the  basis  of  error.  If  this 
country  should  not,  in  the  event,  perform  everything  which 
has  been  requested  in  the  late  memorial  to  Congress,  then 
will  my  belief  become  vain,  and  the  hope  that  has  been  ex¬ 
cited,  void  of  foundation.  And  if,  as  has  been  suggested  for 
the  purpose  of  inflaming  their  passions,  ‘the  officers  of  the 
army  are  to  be  the  only  sufferers  by  the  Revolution;  if, 
retiring  from  the  field,  they  are  to  grow  old  in  poverty, 
wretchedness  and  contempt ;  if  they  are  to  wade  through  the 
vile  mire  of  dependency,  and  owe  the  miserable  remnant  of 
that  life  to  charity  which  has  hitherto  been  spent  in  honor;* 
then  shall  I  have  learned  what  ingratitude  is,  then  shall  I 
have  realized  a  tale  which  will  imbitter  every  moment  of  my 
future  life.  But  I  am  under  no  such  apprehensions.  A 
country,  rescued  by  their  arms  from  impending  ruin,  will 
never  leave  unpaid  the  debt  of  gratitude.” 

This  letter  to  the  President  was  accompanied  by  other 
letters  to  members  of  Congress;  all  making  similar  direct 
and  eloquent  appeals.  The  subject  was  again  taken  up  in 
Congress,  nine  States  concurred  in  a  resolution  commuting 
the  half  pay  into  a  sum  equal  to  five  years’  whole  pay ;  and 
the  whole  matter,  at  one  moment  so  fraught  with  danger  to 
the  republic,  through  the  temperate  wisdom  of  Washington 
was  happily  adjusted. 

The  anonymous  addresses  to  the  army,  which  were  con¬ 
sidered  at  the  time  so  insidious  and  inflammatory,  and  which 


Cife  of  U/a8f?ip<$toQ 


31 


certainly  were  ill-judged  and  dangerous,  have  since  been 
avowed  by  General  John  Armstrong,  a  man  who  had  sus¬ 
tained  with  great  credit  to  himself  various  eminent  posts  un¬ 
der  our  government.  At  the  time  of  writing  them  he  was 
a  young  man,  aid-de-camp  to  General  Gates,  and  he  did  it 
at  the  request  of  a  number  of  his  fellow-officers,  indignant  at 
the  neglect  of  their  just  claims  by  Congress,  and  in  the  be¬ 
lief  that  the  tardy  movements  of  that  body  required  the  spur 
and  the  lash.  Washington,  in  a  letter  dated  23d  January, 
1797,  says,  “I  have  since  had  sufficient  reason  for  believing 
that  the  object  of  the  author  was  just,  honorable  and  friendly 
to  the  country,  though  the  means  suggested  by  him  were 
certainly  liable  to  much  misunderstanding  and  abuse.” 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-TWO 

News  of  Peace — Letter  of  Washington  in  Behalf  of  the  Army — 
Cessation  of  Hostilities  proclaimed — Order  of  the  Cincinnati 
formed — Letter  of  Washington  to  the  State  Governors — Mutiny 
in  the  Pennsylvania  Line — Letter  of  Washington  on  the  Subject 
— Tour  to  the  Northern  Posts 

At  length  arrived  the  wished-for  news  of  peace.  A  gen¬ 
eral  treaty  had  been  signed  at  Paris  on  the  20tli  of  January. 
An  armed  vessel,  the  “Triumph,”  belonging  to  the  Count 
d’Estaing’s  squadron,  arrived  at  Philadelphia  from  Cadiz, 
on  the  23d  of  March,  bringing  a  letter  from  the  Marquis  de 
Lafayette  to  the  President  of  Congress,  communicating  the 
intelligence.  In  a  few  days  Sir  Guy  Carleton  informed 
Washington  by  letter  that  he  was  ordered  to  proclaim  a 
cessation  of  hostilities  by  sea  and  jUdcL 


32 


U/or^s  of  U/asl>ir>^toi7  IruiQ<$ 


A  similar  proclamation,  issued  by  Congress,  was  received 
by  Washington  on  the  17th  of  April.  Being  unaccompanied 
by  any  instructions  respecting  the  discharge  of  the  part  of 
the  army  with  him,  should  the  measure  be  deemed  neces¬ 
sary,  he  found  himself  in  a  perplexing  situation. 

The  accounts  of  peace  received  at  different  times  had 
raised  an  expectation  in  the  minds  of  those  of  his  troops  that 
had  engaged  “for  the  war,”  that  a  speedy  discharge  must 
be  the  consequence  of  the  proclamation.  Most  of  them  could 
not  distinguish  between  a  proclamation  of  a  cessation  of  hos¬ 
tilities  and  a  definitive  declaration  of  peace,  and  might  con¬ 
sider  any  further  claim  on  their  military  services  an  act  of 
injustice.  It  was  becoming  difficult  to  enforce  the  discipline 
necessary  to  the  coherence  of  an  army.  W  ashington  repre¬ 
sented  these  circumstances  in  a  letter  to  the  president,  and 
earnestly  entreated  a  prompt  determination  on  the  part  of 
Congress  as  to  what  was  to  be  the  period  of  the  services  of 
these  men,  and  how  he  was  to  act  respecting  their  discharge. 

One  suggestion  of  his  letter  is  expressive  of  his  strong 
sympathy  with  the  patriot  soldier,  and  his  knowledge  of 
what  formed  a  matter  of  pride  with  the  poor  fellows  who 
had  served  and  suffered  under  him.  He  urged  that,  in  dis¬ 
charging  those  who  had  been  engaged  “for  the  war,”  the 
non-commissioned  officers  and  soldiers  should  be  allowed  to 
take  with  them,  as  their  own  property,  and  as  a  gratuity, 
their  arms  and  accouterments.  “This  act,”  observes  he, 
“would  raise  pleasing  sensations  in  the  minds  of  these 
worthy  and  faithful  men,  who,  from  their  early  engag¬ 
ing  in  the  war  at  moderate  bounties,  and  from  their  patient 
continuance  under  innumerable  distresses,  have  not  only 
deserved  nobly  of  their  country,  but  have  obtained  an  hon¬ 
orable  distinction  over  those  who,  with  shorter  terms,  have 


Cife  of  U/a8t?ri}$toi) 


33 


gained  large  pecuniary  rewards.  This,  at  a  comparatively 
small  expense,  would  be  deemed  an  honorable  testimonial 
from  Congress  of  the  regard  they  bear  to  these  distinguished 
worthies,  and  the  sense  they  have  of  their  suffering  virtues 
and  services.  .  .  . 

“These  constant  companions  of  their  toils,  preserved  with 
sacred  attention,  would  be  handed  down  from  the  present 
possessors  to  their  children,  as  honorary  badges  of  bravery 
and  military  merit;  and  would  probably  be  brought  forth  on 
some  future  occasion,  with  pride  and  exultation,  to  be  im¬ 
proved  with  the  same  military  ardor  and  emulation  in  the 
hands  of  posterity,  as  they  have  been  used  by  their  fore¬ 
fathers  in  the  present  establishment  and  foundation  of  our 
national  independence  and  glory.’ * 

This  letter  dispatched,  he  notified  in  general  orders  that 
the  cessation  of  hostilities  should  be  proclaimed  at  noon  on 
the  following  day,  and  read  in  the  evening  at  the  head  of 
every  regiment  and  corps  of  the  army,  “after  which,”  adds 
he,  “the  chaplains  with  the  several  brigades  will  render 
thanks  to  Almighty  God  for  all  His  mercies,  particularly 
for  His  overruling  the  wrath  of  man  to  His  own  glory,  and 
causing  the  rage  of  war  to  cease  among  the  nations.” 

Having  noticed  that  this  auspicious  day,  the  19th  of  April 
completed  the  eighth  year  of  the  war,  and  was  the  anni¬ 
versary  of  the  eventful  conflict  at  Lexington,  he  went  on  in 
general  orders  to  impress  upon  the  army  a  proper  idea  of 
the  dignified  part  they  were  called  upon  to  act. 

“The  generous  task  for  which  we  first  flew  to  arms  being 
accomplished;  the  liberties  of  our  country  being  fully  ac¬ 
knowledged  and  firmly  secured,  and  the  characters  of  those 
who  have  persevered  through  every  extremity  of  hardship, 
suffering  and  danger,  being  immortalized  by  the  illustrious 


34 


U/orks  of  U/asl?ii}<$l:oi)  Iruir?<$ 


appellation  of  the  patriot  army ,  nothing  now  remains  but 
for  the  actors  of  this  mighty  scene  to  preserve  a  perfect,  un¬ 
varying  consistency  of  character,  through  the  very  last  act, 
to  close  the  drama  with  applause,  and  to  retire  from  the 
military  theater  with  the  same  approbation  of  angels  and 
men  which  has  crowned  all  their  former  virtuous  actions.” 

The  letter  which  he  had  written  to  the  president  produced 
a  resolution  in  Congress,  that  the  service  of  the  men  engaged 
in  the  war  did  not  expire  until  the  ratification  of  the  defini¬ 
tive  articles  of  peace ;  but  that  the  commander-in-chief  might 
grant  furloughs  to  such  as  he  thought  proper,  and  that  they 
should  be  allowed  to  take  their  arms  with  them. 

Washington  availed  himself  freely  of  this  permission: 
furloughs  were  granted  without  stint;  the  men  set  out  singly 
or  in  small  parties  for  their  rustic  homes,  and  the  danger 
and  inconvenience  were  avoided  of  disbanding  large  masses, 
at  a  time,  of  unpaid  soldiery.  Now  and  then  were  to  be 
seen  three  or  four  in  a  group,  bound  probably  to  the  same 
neighborhood,  beguiling  the  way  with  camp  jokes  and  camp 
stories.  The  war-worn  soldier  was  always  kindly  received 
at  the  farmhouses  along  the  road,  where  he  might  shoulder 
his  gun  and  fight  over  his  battles.  The  men  thus  dismissed 
on  furlough  were  never  called  upon  to  rejoin  the  army. 
Once  at  home,  they  sank  into  domestic  life;  their  weapons 
were  hung  up  over  their  fireplaces— military  trophies  of  the 
Revolution  to  be  prized  by  future  generations. 

In  the  meantime  Sir  Guy  Carleton  was  making  prepara¬ 
tions  for  the  evacuation  of  the  city  of  New  York.  The  mo¬ 
ment  he  had  received  the  royal  order  for  the  cessation  of 
hostilities,  he  had  written  for  all  the  shipping  that  could  be 
procured  from  Europe  and  the  West  Indies.  As  early  as 
the  27th  of  April  a  fleet  had  sailed  for  different  parts  of 


Cife  of  U/asfyip^tor? 


35 


Nova  Scotia,  carrying  off  about  seven  thousand  persons, 
with  all  their  effects.  A  great  part  of  these  were  troops, 
but  many  were  royalists  and  refugees,  exiled  by  the  laws  of 
the  United  States.  They  looked  forward  with  a  dreary  eye 
to  their  voyage,  “bound,”  as  one  of  them  said,  “to  a  coun¬ 
try  where  there  were  nine  months  of  winter  and  three 
months  of  cold  weather  every  year.” 

On  the  6th  of  May  a  personal  conference  took  place  be¬ 
tween  Washington  and  Sir  Guy  at  Orangetown,  about  the 
transfer  of  posts  in  the  United  States,  held  by  the  British 
troops,  and  the  delivery  of  all  property  stipulated  by  the 
treaty  to  be  given  up  to  the  Americans.  On  the  8th  of  May, 
Egbert  Benson,  William  S.  Smith  and  Daniel  Parker  were 
commissioned  by  Congress  to  inspect  and  superintend  at 
New  York  the  embarkation  of  persons  and  property,  in  ful¬ 
fillment  of  the  seventh  article  of  the  provisional  treaty. 

While  sadness  and  despair  prevailed  among  the  tories  and 
refugees  in  New  York,  the  officers  in  the  patriot  camp  on  the 
Hudson  were  not  without  gloomy  feelings  at  the  thought  of 
their  approaching  separation  from  each  other.  Eight  years 
of  dangers  and  hardships,  shared  in  common  and  nobly  sus¬ 
tained,  had  welded  their  hearts  together,  and  made  it  hard 
to  rend  them  asunder.  Prompted  by  such  feelings,  General 
Knox,  ever  noted  for  generous  impulses,  suggested,  as  a 
mode  of  perpetuating  the  friendships  thus  formed  and  keep¬ 
ing  alive  the  brotherhood  of  the  camp,  the  formation  of  a 
society  composed  of  the  officers  of  the  army.  The  sugges¬ 
tion  met  with  universal  concurrence,  and  the  hearty  appro¬ 
bation  of  Washington. 

Meetings  were  held,  at  which  the  Baron  Steuben,  as 
senior  officer,  presided.  A  plan  was  drafted  by  a  commit-, 
tee  composed  of  Generals  Knox,  Hand,  and  Huntingdon, 


36 


U/or^s  of  U/asl?ir}<$toi)  Iruir)<$ 


and  Captain  Shaw,  and  the  society  was  organized  at  a  meet¬ 
ing  held  on  the  13th  of  May,  at  the  baron’s  quarters  in  the 
old  Yerplanck  House,  near  Fishkill. 

By  its  formula,  the  officers  of  the  American  army  in  the 
most  solemn  mf  ner  combined  themselves  into  one  society 
of  friends  to  endure  as  long  as  they  should  endure,  or  any 
of  their  eldest  male  posterity,  and  in  failure  thereof,  their 
collateral  branches  who  might  be  judged  worthy  of  being  its 
supporters  and  members.  In  memory  of  the  illustrious  Ro¬ 
man,  Lucius  Quintius  Cincinnatus,  who  retired  from  war  to 
the  peaceful  duties  of  the  citizen,  it  was  to  be  called  “The 
Society  of  the  Cincinnati.”  The  objects  proposed  by  it  were 
to  preserve  inviolate  the  rights  and  liberties  for  which  they 
had  contended ;  to  promote  and  cherish  national  honor  and 
union  between  the  States;  to  maintain  brotherly  kindness  to¬ 
ward  each  other,  and  extend  relief  to  such  officers  and  their 
families  as  might  stand  in  need  of  it. 

In  order  to  obtain  funds  for  the  purpose,  each  officer  was 
to  contribute  one  month’s  pay,  the  interest  only  to  be  appro¬ 
priated  to  the  relief  of  the  unfortunate.  The  general  society, 
for  the  sake  of  frequent  communications,  was  to  be  divided 
into  State  societies,  and  these  again  into  districts.  The  gen¬ 
eral  society  was  to  meet  annually  on  the  first  Monday  in 
May,  the  State  societies  on  each  4tli  of  July,  the  districts 
as  often  as  should  be  agreed  on  by  the  State  society. 

The  society  was  to  have  an  insignia  called  “The  Order 
of  the  Cincinnati.”  It  was  to  be  a  golden  American  eagle 
bearing  on  its  breast  emblematical  devices;  this  was  to  be 
suspended  by  a  deep-blue  ribbon  two  inches  wide,  edged 
with  white;  significative  of  the  union  of  America  with 
France. 

Individuals  of  the  respective  States,  distinguished  for 


Cife  of  U/asbffi<$tor) 


37 


patriotism  and  talents,  might  be  admitted  as  honorary  mem¬ 
bers  for  life ;  their  numbers  never  to  exceed  a  ratio  of  one 
to  four.  The  French  ministers  who  had  officiated  at  Phila¬ 
delphia,  and  the  French  admirals,  generals,,  and  colonels, 
who  had  served  in  the  United  States,  wemj  to  be  presented 
with  the  insignia  of  the  order,  and  invited  to  become  mem¬ 
bers. 

Washington  was  chosen  unanimously  to  officiate  as  presi¬ 
dent  of  it,  until  the  first  general  meeting,  to  be  held  in  May, 
1784. 

On  the  8th  of  June,  Washington  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
governors  of  the  several  States  on  the  subject  of  the  dissolu¬ 
tion  of  the  army.  The  opening  of  it  breathes  that  aspiration 
after  the  serene  quiet  of  private  life,  which  had  been  his 
dream  of  happiness  throughout  the  storms  and  trials  of  his 
anxious  career,  but  the  full  fruition  of  which  he  was  never 
to  realize. 

‘‘The  great  object,”  said  he,  “for  which  I  had  the  honor 
to  hold  an  appointment  in  the  service  of  my  country  being 
accomplished,  1  am  now  preparing  to  return  to  that  domestic 
retirement  which,  it  is  well  known,  I  left  with  the  greatest 
reluctance;  a  retirement  for  which  I  have  never  ceased  to 
sigh,  through  a  long  and  painful  absence,  and  in  which 
(remote  from  the  noise  and  trouble  of  the  world)  I  medi¬ 
tate  to  pass  the  remainder  of  life  in  a  state  of  undisturbed 
repose.” 

His  letter  then  described  the  enviable  condition  of  the 
citizens  of  America.  “Sole  lords  and  proprietors  of  a  vast 
tract  of  continent,  comprehending  all  the  various  soils  and 
climates  of  the  world,  and  abounding  with  all  the  necessaries 
and  conveniences  of  life;  and  acknowledged  possessors  of 
‘absolute  freedom  and  independency.’  This  is  the  time,” 


38 


U/orks  of  U/as^ip^top  IrvfQ$ 


said  he,  “of  their  political  probation;  this  is  the  moment 
when  the  eyes  of  the  whole  world  are  turned  upon  them; 
this  is  the  moment  to  establish  or  ruin  their  national  char¬ 
acter  forever.  This  is  the  favorable  moment  to  give  such 
a  tone  to  the  federal  government  as  will  enable  it  to  answer 
the  ends  of  its  institution ;  or  this  may  be  the  moment  for 
relaxing  the  powers  of  the  Union,  annihilating  the  cement 
of  the  confederation,  and  exposing  us  to  become  the  sport 
of  European  politics,  which  may  play  one  State  against 
another,  to  prevent  their  growing  importance,  and  to  serve 
their  own  interested  purposes. 

“With  this  conviction  of  the  importance  of  the  present 
crisis,  silence  in  me  would  be  a  crime.  I  will  therefore  speak 
the  language  of  freedom  and  sincerity  without  disguise. 

“I  am  aware,  however,”  continues  he  modestly,  “that 
those  who  differ  from  me  in  political  sentiment  may  perhaps 
remark  that  I  am  stepping  out  of  the  proper  line  of  my  duty, 
and  may  possibly  ascribe  to  arrogance  or  ostentation  what 
I  know  is  the  result  of  the  purest  intention.  But  the  recti¬ 
tude  of  my  own  heart,  which  disdains  such  unworthy  mo¬ 
tives;  the  part  I  have  hitherto  acted  in  life;  the  determina¬ 
tion  I  have  formed  of  not  taking  any  share  in  public  business 
hereafter;  the  ardent  desire  I  feel,  and  shall  continue  to 
manifest,  of  quietly  enjoying,  in  private  life,  after  all  the 
toils  of  war,  the  benefits  of  a  wise  and  liberal  government ; 
will,  I  flatter  myself,  sooner  or  later  convince  my  country¬ 
men  that  I  could  have  no  sinister  views  in  delivering  with 
so  little  reserve  the  opinions  contained  in  this  address.” 

He  then  proceeded  ably  and  eloquently  to  discuss  what 
he  considered  the  four  things  essential  to  the  well-being,  and 
even  the  existence,  of  the  United  States  as  an  independent 
power. 


Cife  of  U/asf?ii?<$toi} 


39 


First.  An  indissoluble  union  of  the  States  under  one 
federal  head,  and  a  perfect  acquiescence  of  the  several  States 
in  the  full  exercise  of  the  prerogative  vested  in  such  a  head 
by  the  constitution. 

Second.  A  sacred  regard  to  public  justice  in  discharging 
debts  and  fulfilling  contracts  made  by  Congress  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  carrying  on  the  war. 

Third.  The  adoption  of  a  proper  peace  establishment; 
in  which  care  should  be  taken  to  place  the  militia  throughout 
the  Union  on  a  regular,  uniform,  and  efficient  footing.  “The 
militia  of  this  country,”  said  he,  “must  be  considered  as 
the  palladium  of  our  security,  and  the  first  effectual  resort 
in  cases  of  hostility.  It  is  essential,  therefore,  that  the  same 
system  should  pervade  the  whole;  that  the  formation  and 
discipline  of  the  militia  of  the  continent  should  be  absolutely 
uniform,  and  that  the  same  species  of  arms,  accouterments, 
and  military  apparatus  should  be  introduced  in  every  part 
of  the  United  States.” 

And  Fourth.  A  disposition  among  the  people  of  the 
United  States  to  forget  local  prejudices  and  policies;  to  make 
mutual  concessions,  and  to  sacrifice  individual  advantages 
to  the  interests  of  the  community. 

These  four  things  Washington  pronounced  the  pillars  on 
which  the  glorious  character  must  be  supported.  “Liberty 
is  the  basis,  and  whoever  would  dare  to  sap  the  foundation, 
or  overturn  the  structure,  under  whatever  specious  pretext 
he  may  attempt  it,  will  merit  the  bitterest  execration  and 
the  severest  punishment  which  can  be  inflicted  by  his  injured 
country.” 

We  forbear  to  go  into  the  ample  and  admirable  reasoning 
with  which  he  expatiates  on  these  heads,  and,  above  all, 
enforces  the  sacred  inviolability  of  the  Union;  they  have 


40 


U/or^s  of  U/asfyir^tor?  Irvir?^ 


become  familiar  with  every  American  mind,  and  ought  to 
govern  every  American  heart.  Nor  will  we  dwell  upon  his 
touching  appeal  on  the  subject  of  the  half  pay  and  commuta¬ 
tion  promised  to  the  army,  and  which  began  to  be  considered 
in  the  odious  light  of  a  pension.  “That  provision,”  said  he, 
“should  be  viewed  as  it  really  was — a  reasonable  compensa¬ 
tion  offered  by  Congress,  at  a  time  when  they  had  nothing 
else  to  give  to  the  officers  of  the  army  for  services  then  to  be 
performed.  It  was  the  only  means  to  prevent  a  total  dere¬ 
liction  of  the  service.  It  was  a  part  of  their  hire.  I  may 
be  allowed  to  say  it  was  the  price  of  their  blood  and  of  your 
independency;  it  is  therefore  more  than  a  common  debt,  it 
is  a  debt  of  honor.” 

Although  we  have  touched  upon  but  a  part  of  this  ad¬ 
mirable  letter,  we  cannot  omit  its  affecting  close,  addressed 
as  it  was  to  each  individual  governor. 

“I  have  thus  freely  declared  what  I  wished  to  make 
known,  before  I  surrendered  up  my  public  trust,  to  those 
who  committed  it  to  me.  The  task  is  now  accomplished. 
I  now  bid  adieu  to  your  Excellency,  as  the  chief  magistrate 
of  your  State,  at  the  same  time  I  bid  a  last  farewell  to  the 
cares  of  office  and  all  the  employments  of  public  life. 

“It  remains,  then,  to  be  my  final  and  only  request,  that 
your  Excellency  will  communicate  these  sentiments  to  your 
Legislature  at  their  next  meeting,  and  that  they  may  be  con¬ 
sidered  the  legacy  of  one  who  has  ardently  wished,  on  all 
occasions,  to  be  useful  to  his  country,  and  who,  even  in  the 
shade  of  retirement,  will  not  fail  to  implore  the  Divine 
benediction  on  it. 

“I  now  make  it  my  earnest  prayer  that  God  would  have 
you,  and  the  State  over  which  you  preside,  in  His  holy  pro¬ 
tection;  that  He  would  incline  the  hearts  of  the  citizens  to 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii)<$tOQ 


41 


cultivate  a  spirit  of  subordination  and  obedience  to  govern¬ 
ment,  to  entertain  a  brotherly  affection  and  love  for  one 
another,  for  their  fellow -citizens  of  the  United  States  at 
large,  and  particularly  for  brethren  who  have  served  in  the 
field;  and  finally,  that  He  would  most  graciously  be  pleased 
to  dispose  us  all  to  do  justice,  to  love  mercy,  and  to  demean 
ourselves  with  that  charity,  humility,  and  pacific  temper  of 
mind,  which  are  the  characteristics  of  the  Divine  Author 
of  our  blessed  religion,  and  without  whose  example  in  those 
things  we  can  never  hope  to  be  a  happy  nation.’ * 

While  the  patriot  army,  encamped  under  the  eye  of  "Wash¬ 
ington,  bore  their  hardships  and  privations  without  flinching, 
or  returned  quietly  to  their  homes  with,  as  yet,  no  actual 
reward  but  the  weapons  with  which  they  had  vindicated 
their  country’s  cause;  about  eighty  newly  recruited  soldiers 
of  the  Pennsylvania  line,  stationed  at  Lancaster,  suddenly 
mutinied  and  set  off  in  a  body  for  Philadelphia,  to  demand 
redress  of  fancied  grievances  from  the  Legislature  of  the 
State.  Arriving  at  that  city,  they  were  joined  by  about  two 
hundred  comrades  from  the  barracks,  and  proceeded  on  the 
2d  of  June  with  beat  of  drum  and  fixed  bayonets  to  the 
State  House,  where  Congress  and  the  supreme  executive 
council  of  Pennsylvania  were  in  session. 

Placing  sentinels  at  every  door  to  prevent  egress,  they 
sent  in  a  written  message  to  the  president  and  council,  threat¬ 
ening  military  violence  if  their  demands  were  not  complied 
with  in  the  course  of  twenty  minutes. 

Though  these  menaces  were  directed  against  the  State 
government.  Congress  felt  itself  outraged  by  being  thus 
surrounded  and  blockaded  for  several  hours  by  an  armed 
soldiery.  Fearing  lest  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  might  not 
be  able  to  furnish  adequate  protection,  it  adjourned  to  meet 


42 


U/or^s  of  U/as^ip^top  trvlp$ 


within  a  few  days  at  Princeton;  sending  information,  in 
the  meantime,  to  Washington  of  this  mutinous  outbreak. 

The  latter  immediately  detached  General  Howe  with 
fifteen  hundred  men  to  quell  the  mutiny  and  punish  the 
offenders;  at  the  same  time,  in  a  letter  to  the  President  of 
Congress,  he  expressed  his  indignation  and  distress  at  seeing 
a  handful  of  men,  “contemptible  in  numbers  and  equally 
so  in  point  of  service,  and  not  worthy  to  be  called  soldiers,” 
insulting  the  sovereign  authority  of  the  Union  and  that  of 
their  own  State.  He  vindicated  the  army  at  large,  how¬ 
ever,  from  the  stain  the  behavior  of  these  men  might  cast 
upon  it.  These  were  mere  recruits,  soldiers  of  a  day,  who 
had  not  borne  the  heat  and  burden  of  the  war,  and  had  in 
reality  few  hardships  to  complain  of.  He  contrasted  their 
conduct  with  that  of  the  soldiers  recently  furloughed — vet¬ 
erans,  who  had  patiently  endured  hunger,  nakedness,  and 
cold;  who  had  suffered  and  bled  without  a  murmur,  and 
who  had  retired,  in  perfect  good  order,  to  their  homes,  with¬ 
out  a  settlement  of  their  accounts  or  a  farthing  of  money 
in  their  pockets.  While  he  gave  vent  to  this  indignation 
and  scorn,  roused  by  the  “arrogance  and  folly  and  wicked¬ 
ness  of  the  mutineers,”  he  declared  that  he  could  not  suffi¬ 
ciently  admire  the  fidelity,  bravery,  and  patriotism  of  the 
rest  of  the  army. 

Fortunately,  before  the  troops  under  General  Howe 
reached  Philadelphia,  the  mutiny  had  been  suppressed  with¬ 
out  bloodshed.  Several  of  the  mutineers  were  tried  by  a 
court-martial,  two  were  condemned  to  death,  but  ultimately 
pardoned,  and  four  received  corporal  punishment. 

Washington  now  found  his  situation  at  headquarters  irk« 
some ;  there  was  little  to  do,  and  he  was  liable  to  be  inces¬ 
santly  teased  with  applications  and  demands  which  he  had 


Cife  of  U/asfiir^toi} 


43 


neither  the  means  nor  power  to  satisfy.  He  resolved,  there- 
fore,  to  while  away  part  of  the  time  that  must  intervene 
before  the  arrival  of  the  definitive  treaty,  by  making  a  tour 
to  the  northern  and  western  parts  of  the  State,  and  visiting 
the  places  which  had  been  the  theater  of  important  military 
transactions.  He  had  another  object  in  view;  he  desired  to 
facilitate  as  far  as  in  his  power  the  operations  which  would 
be  necessary  for  occupying,  as  soon  as  evacuated  by  the 
British  troops,  the  posts  ceded  by  the  treaty  of  peace. 

Governor  Clinton  accompanied  him  on  the  expedition. 
They  set  out  by  water  from  Newburg,  ascended  the  Hudson 
to  Albany,  visited  Saratoga  and  the  scene  of  Burgoyne’s 
surrender,  embarked  on  Lake  George,  where  light  boats  had 
been  provided  for  them,  traversed  that  beautiful  lake  so  full 
of  historic  interest,  proceeded  to  Ticonderoga  and  Crown 
Point;  and  after  reconnoitering  those  eventful  posts,  returned 
to  Schenectady,  whence  they  proceeded  up  the  valley  of  the 
Mohawk  River,  “to  have  a  view,”  writes  Washington,  “of 
that  tract  of  country  which  is  so  much  celebrated  for  the 
fertility  of  its  soil  and  the  beauty  of  its  situation.”  Having 
reached  Fort  Schuyler,  formerly  Fort  Stanwix,  they  crossed 
over  to  Wood  Creek,  which  empties  into  Oneida  Lake,  and 
affords  the  water  communication  with  Ontario.  They  then 
traversed  the  country  to  the  head  of  the  eastern  branch  of 
the  Susquehanna,  and  viewed  Lake  Otsego  and  the  portage 
between  that  lake  and  the  Mohawk  River. 

Washington  returned  to  headquarters  at  Newburg  on 
the  5th  of  August,  after  a  tour  of  at  least  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  miles,  performed  in  nineteen  days,  and  for  the 
most  part  on  horseback.  In  a  letter  to  the  Chevalier  de 
Chastellux,  written  two  or  three  months  afterward,  and 
giving  a  sketch  of  his  tour  through  what  was,  as  yet,  an 


44 


U/orKs  of  U/asl?ir)<$tor}  Iruii}<$ 


unstudied  wilderness,  he  writes:  “Prompted  by  these  actual 
observations,  I  could  not  help  taking  a  more  extensive  view 
of  the  vast  inland  navigation  of  these  United  States  from 
maps  and  the  information  of  others;  and  could  not  but  be 
struck  with  the  immense  extent  and  importance  of  it,  and 
with  the  goodness  of  that  Providence  which  has  dealt  its 
favors  to  us  with  so  profuse  a  hand ;  would  to  God  we  may 
have  wisdom  enough  to  improve  them.  I  shall  not  rest 
contented  till  I  have  explored  the  western  country  and  trav¬ 
ersed  those  lines,  or  a  great  part  of  them,  which  have  given 
bounds  to  a  new  empire.”  The  vast  advantages  of  internal 
communication  between  the  Hudson  and  the  great  lakes, 
which  dawned  upon  Washington’s  mind  in  the  course  of 
this  tour,  have  since  been  realized  in  that  grand  artery 
of  national  wealth,  the  Erie  Canal. 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-THREE 

The  Army  to  be  discharged — Parting  Address  of  Washington — 
Evacuation  of  New  York — Parting  Scene  of  Washington  with 
his  Officers  at  New  York — Washington  resigns  his  Commission 
to  Congress — Retires  to  Mount  Vernon 

By  a  proclamation  of  Congress,  dated  18th  of  October, 
all  officers  and  soldiers  absent  on  furlough  were  discharged 
from  further  service ;  and  all  others  who  had  engaged  to 
serve  during  the  war  were  to  be  discharged  from  and  after 
the  3d  of  November.  A  small  force  only,  composed  of  those 
who  had  enlisted  for  a  definite  time,  were  to  be  retained  in 
service  until  the  peace  establishment  should  be  organized 
In  general  orders  of  November  2d,  Washington,  after 
adverting  to  this  proclamation,  adds:  “It  only  remains  for 


Cifc  of  U/a8l?ii}<$tor) 


45 


the  commander-in-chief  to  address  himself  once  more,  and 
that  for  the  last  time,  to  the  armies  of  the  United  States, 
however  widely  dispersed  the  individuals  who  compose  them 
may  be,  and  to  bid  them  an  affectionate  and  a  long  fare¬ 
well.” 

He  then  goes  on  to  make  them  one  of  those  paternal 
addresses  which  so  eminently  characterize  his  relationship 
with  his  army,  so  different  from  that  of  any  other  com¬ 
mander.  He  takes  a  brief  view  of  the  glorious  struggle 
from  which  they  had  just  emerged ;  the  unpromising  circum¬ 
stances  under  which  they  had  undertaken  it,  and  the  signal 
interposition  of  Providence  in  behalf  of  their  feeble  condi¬ 
tion  ;  the  unparalleled  perseverance  of  the  American  armies 
for  eight  long  years,  through  almost  every  possible  suffering 
and  discouragement;  a  perseverance  which  he  justly  pro¬ 
nounces  to  be  little  short  of  a  standing  miracle. 

Adverting  then  to  the  enlarged  prospects  of  happiness 
opened  by  the  confirmation  of  national  independence  and 
sovereignty,  and  the  ample  and  profitable  employments  held 
out  in  a  Republic  so  happily  circumstanced,  he  exhorts  them 
to  maintain  the  strongest  attachment  to  the  union,  and  to 
carry  with  them  into  civil  society  the  most  conciliatory  dis¬ 
positions;  proving  themselves  not  less  virtuous  and  useful 
as  citizens  than  they  had  been  victorious  as  soldiers ;  feeling- 
assured  that  the  private  virtues  of  economy,  prudence  and 
industry  would  not  be  less  amiable  in  civil  life,  than  the 
more  splendid  qualities  of  valor,  perseverance  and  enterprise 
were  in  the  field. 

After  a  warm  expression  of  thanks  to  the  officers  and 
men  for  the  assistance  he  had  received  from  every  class, 
and  in  every  instance,  he  adds: 

“To  the  various  branches  of  the  army  the  General  takes 


46 


U/orks  of  U/as^ir><$top  Irulr}$ 


this  last  and  solemn  opportunity  of  professing  his  invariable 
attachment  and  friendship.  He  wishes  more  than  bare  pro¬ 
fessions  were  in  his  power;  that  he  was  really  able  to  be 
useful  to  them  all  in  future  life.  He  flatters  himself,  how¬ 
ever,  they  will  do  him  the  justice  to  believe,  that  whatever 
could  with  propriety  be  attempted  by  him  has  been  done. 

“And  being  now  to  conclude  these  his  last  public  orders, 
to  take  his  ultimate  leave  in  a  short  time  of  the  military  char¬ 
acter,  and  to  bid  a  final  adieu  to  the  armies  he  has  so  long 
had  the  honor  to  command,  he  can  only  offer  in  their  behalf 
his  recommendations  to  their  grateful  country,  and  his 
prayers  to  the  God  of  armies.  May  ample  justice  be  done 
them  here,  and  may  the  choicest  of  Heaven’s  favors,  both 
here  and  hereafter,  attend  those  who,  under  the  Divine 
auspices,  have  secured  innumerable  blessings  for  others. 
With  these  wishes,  and  this  benediction,  the  commander- 
in-chief  is  about  to  retire  from  service.  The  curtain  of 
separation  will  soon  be  drawn,  and  the  military  scene  to 
him  will  be  closed  forever.” 

There  was  a  straightforward  simplicity  in  Washington’s 
addresses  to  his  army;  they  were  so  void  of  tumid  phrases 
or  rhetorical  embellishments;  the  counsels  given  in  them 
were  so  sound  and  practicable;  the  feelings  expressed  in 
them  so  kind  and  benevolent;  and  so  perfectly  in  accordance 
with  his  character  and  conduct,  that  they  always  had  an 
irresistible  effect  on  the  rudest  and  roughest  hearts. 

A  person  who  was  present  at  the  breaking  up  of  the 
army,  and  whom  we  have  had  frequent  occasion  to  cite, 
observes,  on  the  conduct  of  the  troops,  “The  advice  of  their 
beloved  commander-in-chief,  and  the  resolves  of  Congress 
to  pay  and  compensate  them  in  such  manner  as  the  ability 
of  the  United  States  would  permit,  operated  to  keep  them 


Cife  of  U/asfyir^tor? 


47 


quiet  and  prevent  tumult,  but  no  description  would  be  ade¬ 
quate  to  the  painful  circumstances  of  the  parting  scene. 
Both  officers  and  soldiers,  long  unaccustomed  to  the  affairs 
of  private  life,  turned  loose  on  the  world  to  starve,  and  to 
become  the  prey  to  vulture  speculators.  Never  can  that 
melancholy  day  be  forgotten  when  friends,  companions  for 
seven  long  years  in  joy  and  in  sorrow,  were  torn  asunder 
without  the  hope  of  ever  meeting  again,  and  with  prospects 
of  a  miserable  subsistence  in  future.”  * 

Notwithstanding  every  exertion  had  been  made  for  the 
evacuation  of  New  York,  such  was  the  number  of  persons 
and  the  quantity  of  effects  of  all  kinds  to  be  conveyed  away, 
that  the  month  of  November  was  far  advanced  before  it 
could  be  completed.  Sir  Guy  Carleton  had  given  notice 
to  W  ashington  of  the  time  he  supposed  the  different  posts 
would  be  vacated,  that  the  Americans  might  be  prepared 
to  take  possession  of  them.  In  consequence  of  this  notice, 
General  George  Clinton,  at  that  time  Governor  of  New 
York,  had  summoned  the  members  of  the  State  council  to 
convene  at  Eastchester  on  the  21st  of  November,  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  civil  government  in  the  districts 
hitherto  occupied  by  the  British;  and  a  detachment  of  troops 
was  marched  from  West  Point  to  be  ready  to  take  possession 
of  the  posts  as  they  were  vacated. 

On  the  21st  the  British  troops  w4re  drawn  in  from  the 
oft-disputed  post  of  King’s  Bridge  and  from  M‘Gowan’s 
Pass,  also  from  the  various  posts  on  the  eastern  part  of  Long 
Island.  Paul  us  Hook  was  relinquished  on  the  following 
day,  and  the  afternoon  of  the  25th  of  November  was  ap¬ 
pointed  by  Sir  Guy  for  the  evacuation  of  the  city  and  the 
opposite  village  of  Brooklyn. 


*  Thacher,  p.  421. 


48 


U/orks  of  U/asbii)$toi)  Iruir><$ 


Washington,  in  the  meantime,  had  taken  his  station  at 
Harlem,  accompanied  by  Governor  Clinton,  who,  in  virtue 
of  his  office,  was  to  take  charge  of  the  city.  They  found 
there  General  Knox  with  the  detachment  from  West  Point. 
Sir  Guy  Carleton  had  intimated  a  wish  that  Washington 
would  be  at  hand  to  take  immediate  possession  of  the  city, 
and  prevent  all  outrage,  as  he  had  been  informed  of  a  plot 
to  plunder  the  place  whenever  the  king’s  troops  should  be 
withdrawn.  He  had  engaged,  also,  that  the  guards  of  the 
redoubts  on  the  East  River,  covering  the  upper  part  of 
the  town,  should  be  the  first  to  be  withdrawn,  and  that 
an  officer  should  be  sent  to  give  Washington’s  advanced 
guard  information  of  their  retiring. 

Although  W  ashington  doubted  the  existence  of  any  such 
plot  as  that  which  had  been  reported  to  the  British  com¬ 
mander,  yet  he  took  precautions  accordingly.  On  the  morn¬ 
ing  of  the  25th  the  American  troops,  composed  of  dragoons, 
light-infantry,  and  artillery,  moved  from  Harlem  to  the 
Bowery  at  the  upper  part  of  the  city.  There  they  remained 
until  the  troops  in  that  quarter  were  withdrawn,  when  they 
marched  into  the  city  and  took  possession,  the  British  em¬ 
barking  from  the  lower  parts. 

A  formal  entry  then  took  place  of  the  military  and  civil 
authorities.  General  Washington  and  Governor  Clinton, 
with  their  suites,  on  horseback,  led  the  procession,  escorted 
by  a  troop  of  Westchester  cavalry.  Then  came  the  lieu¬ 
tenant-governor  and  members  of  the  council,  General  Knox 
and  the  officers  of  the  army,  the  speaker  of  the  Assembly, 
and  a  large  number  of  citizens  on  horseback  and  on  foot. 

An  American  lady,  who  was  at  that  time  very  young 
and  had  resided  during  the  latter  part  of  the  war  in  the 
city,  has  given  us  an  account  of  the  striking  contrast  be- 


Cife  of  U/asf?ir}$toi) 


49 


tween  the  American  and  British  troops  “We  had  been 
accustomed  for  a  long  time,”  said  she,  “to  military  display- 
in  all  the  finish  and  finery  of  garrison  life ;  the  troops  just 
leaving  us  were  as  if  equipped  for  show,  and  with  their 
scarlet  uniforms  and  burnished  arms  made  a  brilliant  dis¬ 
play;  the  troops  that  marched  in,  on  the  contrary,  were 
ill-clad  and  weather-beaten,  and  made  a  forlorn  appearance; 
but  then  they  were  our  troops,  and  as  I  looked  at  them,  and 
thought  upon  all  they  had  done  and  suffered  for  us,  my 
heart  and  eyes  were  full,  and  I  admired  and  gloried  in 
them  the  more,  because  they  were  weather-beaten  and 
forlorn.” 

The  city  was  now  a  scene  of  public  festivity  and  rejoicing. 
The  governor  gave  banquets  to  the  French  embassador,  the 
commander-in-chief,  the  military  and  civil  officers,  and  a 
large  number  of  the  most  eminent  citizens,  and  at  night  the 
public  were  entertained  by  splendid  fireworks. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  days  Washington  prepared  to 
depart  for  Annapolis,  where  Congress  was  assembling,  with 
the  intention  of  asking 'leave  to  resign  his  command.  A 
barge  was  in  waiting  about  noon  on  the  4th  of  December  at 
Whitehall  ferry  to  convey  him  across  the  Hudson  to  Paulua 
Hook.  The  principal  officers  of  the  army  assembled  at 
Fraunces*  Tavern  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  ferry,  to  take 
a  final  leave  of  him.  On  entering  the  room,  and  finding 
himself  surrounded  by  his  old  companions  in  arms,  who  had 
shared  with  him  so  many  scenes  of  hardship,  difficulty,  and 
danger,  his  agitated  feelings  overcame  his  usual  self-com¬ 
mand.  Filling  a  glass  of  wine,  and  turning  upon  them  his 
benignant  but  saddened  countenance,  “With  a  heart  full  of 
love  and  gratitude,”  said  he,  “I  now  take  leave  of  you,  most 

devoutly  wishing  that  your  latter  days  may  be  as  prosperous 

Vol.  XV.— : **  *3 


50  U/or^s  of  U/a8^ir>^tor>  IruiQ$ 

and  happy  as  your  former  ones  have  been  glorious  and 
honorable.  ” 

Having  drunk  this  farewell  benediction,  he  added  with 
emotion,  “I  cannot  come  to  each  of  you  to  take  my  leave, 
but  shall  be  obliged  if  each  of  you  will  come  and  take  me 
by  the  hand.” 

General  Knox,  who  was  nearest,  was  the  first  to  advance. 
Washington,  affected  even  to  tears,  grasped  his  hand  and 
gave  him  a  brother’s  embrace.  In  the  same  affectionate 
manner  he  took  leave  severally  of  the  rest.  Not  a  word 
was  spoken.  The  deep  feeling  and  manly  tenderness  of 
these  veterans  in  the  parting  moment  could  find  no  utter¬ 
ance  in  words.  Silent  and  solemn  they  followed  their  loved 
commander  as  he  left  the  room,  passed  through  a  corps  of 
light-infantry,  and  proceeded  on  foot  to  Whitehall  ferry. 
Having  entered  the  barge,  he  turned  to  them,  took  off  his 
hat  and  waved  a  silent  adieu. 

They  replied  in  the  same  manner,  and  having  watched 
the  barge  until  the  intervening  point  of  the  Battery  shut  it 
from  sight,  returned,  still  solemn  and  silent,  to  the  place 
where  they  had  assembled.  * 

On  his  way  to  Annapolis,  Washington  stopped  for  a  few 
days  at  Philadelphia,  where,  with  his  usual  exactness  in 
matters  of  business,  he  adjusted  with  the  Comptroller  of  the 
Treasury  his  accounts  from  the  commencement  of  the  war 
down  to  the  13th  of  the  actual  month  of  December.  These 
were  all  in  his  own  handwriting,  and  kept  in  the  cleanest 
and  most  accurate  manner,  each  entry  being  accompanied 
by  a  statement  of  the  occasion  and  object  of  the  charge. 

The  gross  amount  was  about  fourteen  thousand  five  hun- 


*  Marshall’s  Life  of  Washington. 


Cife  of  U/asf?ir)$toi? 


51 


dred  pounds  sterling;  in  which  were  included  moneys  ex¬ 
pended  for  secret  intelligence  and  service,  and  in  various  in¬ 
cidental  charges.  All  this,  it  must  be  noted,  was  an  account 
of  money  actually  expended  in  the  progress  of  the  war ;  not 
for  arrearage  of  pay;  for  it  will  be  recollected  Washington 
accepted  no  pay.  Indeed,  on  the  final  adjustment  of  his 
accounts,  he  found  himself  a  considerable  loser,  having  fre¬ 
quently,  in  the  hurry  of  business,  neglected  to  credit  him¬ 
self  with  sums  drawn  from  his  private  purse  in  moments 
of  exigency. 

The  schedule  of  his  public  account  furnishes  not  the  least 
among  the  many  noble  and  impressive  lessons  taught  by  his 
character  and  example.  It  stands  a  touchstone  of  honesty 
in  office,  and  a  lasting  rebuke  on  that  lavish  expenditure  of 
the  public  money,  too  often  heedlessly,  if  not  willfully,  in¬ 
dulged  by  military  commanders. 

In  passing  through  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and 
Maryland,  the  scenes  of  his  anxious  and  precarious  cam¬ 
paigns,  Washington  was  everywhere  hailed  with  enthusi¬ 
asm  by  the  people,  and  greeted  with  addresses  by  Legisla¬ 
tive  assemblies,  and  learned  and  religious  institutions.  He 
accepted  them  all  with  that  modesty  inherent  in  his  nature ; 
little  thinking  that  this  present  popularity  was  but  the  early 
outbreaking  of  a  fame  that  was  to  go  on  widening  and  deep¬ 
ening  from  generation  to  generation,  and  extending  over  the 
whole  civilized  world. 

Being  arrived  at  Annapolis,  he  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
President  of  Congress,  on  the  20th  of  December,  requesting 
to  know  in  what  manner  it  would  be  most  proper  to  offer  his 
resignation ;  whether  in  writing  or  at  an  audience.  The  lat¬ 
ter  mode  was  adopted,  and  the  Hall  of  Congress  appointed 
for  the  ceremonial. 

U-  nf  ILL 


52 


U/orl^s  of  U/as^ip^tOQ  Irvir?$ 


A  letter  from  Washington  to  the  Baron  Steuben,  written 
on  the  23d,  concludes  as  follows;  “This  is  the  last  letter  I 
shall  write  while  I  continue  in  the  service  of  my  country. 
The  hour  of  my  resignation  is  fixed  at  twelve  to-day,  after 

which  I  shall  become  a  private  citizen  on  the  banks  of  the 

» 

Potomac.” 

At  twelve  o’clock  the  gallery,  and  a  great  part  of  the 
floor  of  the  Hall  of  Congress,  were  filled  with  ladies,  with 
public  functionaries  of  the  State,  and  with  general  officers. 
The  members  ot  Congress  were  seated  and  covered,  as  repre¬ 
sentatives  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  Union.  The  gentlemen 
present  as  spectators  were  standing  and  uncovered. 

Washington  entered,  conducted  by  the  secretary  of  Con¬ 
gress,  and  took  his  seat  in  a  chair  appointed  for  him.  After 
a  brief  pause  the  president  (General  Mifflin)  informed  him 
that  “the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  were  pre¬ 
pared  to  receive  his  communication.” 

Washington  then  rose,  and,  in  a  dignified  and  impressive 
manner,  delivered  a  short  address. 

“The  great  events,”  said  he,  “on  which  my  resignation 
depended,  having  at  length  taken  place,  I  now  have  the 
honor  of  offering  my  sincere  congratulations  to  Congress, 
and  of  presenting  myself  before  them  to  surrender  into  their 
hands  the  trust  committed  to  me,  and  to  claim  the  indul¬ 
gence  of  retiring  from  the  service  of  my  country.” 

After  expressing  his  obligations  to  the  army  in  general, 
and  acknowledging  the  peculiar  services  and  distinguished 
merits  of  the  confidential  officers  who  had  been  attached  to 
his  person,  and  composed  his  family  during  the  war,  and 
whom  he  especially  recommended  to  the  favor  of  Congress, 
he  continued : 

“I  consider  it  an  indispensable  duty  to  close  this  last  sol- 


Cife  of  U/asf?ir)<$tor) 


53 


emn  act  of  my  official  life  by  commending  tlie  interests  of 
our  dearest  country  to  the  protection  of  Almighty  God;  and 
those  who  have  the  superintendence  of  them  to  His  holy 
keeping. 

“Having  now  finished  the  work  assigned  me,  I  retire 
from  the  great  theater  of  action ;  and,  bidding  an  affection- 
ate  farewell  to  this  august  body,  under  whose  orders  I  have 
long  acted,  I  here  offer  my  commission  and  take  my  leave 
of  all  the  employments  of  public  life.” 

“Few  tragedies  ever  drew  so  many  tears  from  so  many 
beautiful  eyes,”  says  a  writer  who  was  present,  “as  the 
moving  manner  in  which  his  Excellency  took  his  final  leave 
of  Congress.”  * 

Having  delivered  his  commission  into  the  hands  of  the 
president,  the  latter,  in  reply  to  his  address,  bore  testimony  to 
the  patriotism  with  which  he  had  answered  to  the  call  of  bis 
country,  and  defended  its  invaded  rights  before  it  had  formed 
alliances,  and  while  it  was  without  funds  or  a  government  to 
support  him ;  to  the  wisdom  and  fortitude  with  which  he  had 
conducted  the  great .  military  contest,  invariably  regarding 
the  rights  of  the  civil  power  through  all  disasters  and 
changes.  “You  may  retire,”  added  he,  “from  the  theater 
of  action  with  the  blessings  of  your  fellow-citizens ;  but  the 
glory  of  your  virtues  will  not  terminate  with  your  military 
command;  it  will  continue  to  animate  remotest  ages.” 

The  very  next  morning  Washington  left  Annapolis,  and 
hastened  to  his  beloved  Mount  Vernon,  where  he  arrived  the 
same  day,  on  Christmas-eve,  in  a  frame  of  mind  suited  to 
enjoy  the  sacred  and  genial  festival, 

“The  scene  is  at  last  closed,”  said  he  in  a  letter  to  Gov- 


*  Editor  of  the  Maryland  Gazette. 


54 


U/orks  of  U/as^iQ^tOf)  Iruip$ 


ernor  Clinton;  “I  feel  myself  eased  of  a  load  of  public  care. 
I  hope  to  spend  the  remainder  of  my  days  iii  cultivating  the 
affections  of  good  men  and  in  the  practice  of  the  domestic 
virtues.” 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-FOUR 

Washington  at  Mount  Vernon — A  Soldier’s  Repose — Plans  of  Do¬ 
mestic  Life — Kind  Offer  of  the  Council  of  Pennsylvania — His¬ 
torical  Applications — News  of  Jacob  Van  Braam — Opening  of 
Spring — Agricultural  Life  resumed — Recollections  of  the  Fair¬ 
faxes — Meeting  of  the  Order  of  Cincinnati — Tour  of  Washing¬ 
ton  and  Dr.  Craik  to  the  West — Ideas  of  Internal  Improvement 
— Parting  with  Lafayette 

For  some  time  after  his  return  to  Mount  Yernon,  Wash¬ 
ington  was  in  a  manner  locked  up  by  the  ice  and  snow  of  an 
uncommonly  rigorous  winter,  so  that  social  intercourse  was 
interrupted,  and  he  could  not  even  pay  a  visit  of  duty  and 
affection  to  his  aged  mother  at  Fredericksburg.  But  it  was 
enough  for  him  at  present  that  he  was  at  length  at  home  at 
Mount  Yernon.  Yet  the  habitudes  of  the  camp  still  haunted 
him;  he  could  hardly  realize  that  he  was  free  from  military 
duties ;  on  waking  in  the  morning  he  almost  expected  to  hear 
the  drum  going  its  stirring  rounds  and  beating  the  reveille. 

“Strange  as  it  may  seem,”  writes  he  to  General  Knox, 
“it  is  nevertheless  true  that  it  was  not  until  very  lately  I 
could  get  the  better  of  my  usual  custom  of  ruminating,  as 
soon  as  I  waked  in  the  morning,  on  the  business  of  the  ensu¬ 
ing  day ;  and  of  my  surprise  at  finding,  after  revolving  many 
things  in  my  mind,  that  I  was  no  longer  a  public  man,  nor 
had  anything  to  do  with  public  transactions.  I  feel  now, 
however,  as  I  conceive  a  weary  traveler  must  do,  who,  after 
treading  many  a  weary  step,  with  a  heavy  burden  on  his 


Cife  of  U/asl?iQ$toi} 


55 


shoulders,  is  eased  of  the  latter,  having  reached  the  haven 
to  which  all  the  former  were  directed,  and  from  his  house¬ 
top  is  looking  back,  and  tracing,  with  an  eager  eye,  the 
meanders  by  which  he  escaped  the  quicksands  and  mires 
which  lay  in  his  way;  and  into  which  none  but  the  all- 
powerful  Guide  and  Dispenser  of  human  events  could  have 
prevented  his  falling.” 

And  in  a  letter  to  Lafayette  he  writes:  “Free  from  the 
bustle  of  a  camp  and  the  busy  scenes  of  public  life,  I  am 
solacing  myself  with  those  tranquil  enjoyments  which  the 
soldier,  who  is  ever  in  pursuit  of  fame ;  the  statesman,  whose 
watchful  days  and  sleepless  nights  are  spent  in  devising 
schemes  to  promote  the  welfare  of  his  own,  perhaps  the  ruin 
of  other  countries — as  if  this  globe  was  insufficient  for  us  all ; 
and  the  courtier,  who  is  always  watching  the  countenance 
of  his  prince  in  hopes  of  catching  a  gracious  smile,  can  have 
very  little  conception.  1  have  not  only  retired  from  all  pub¬ 
lic  employments,  but  I  am  retiring  within  myself,  and  shall 
be  able  to  view  the  solitary  walk  and  tread  the  paths  of  pri¬ 
vate  life  with  heartfelt  satisfaction.  Envious  of  none,  I  am 
determined  to  be  pleased  with  all ;  and  this,  my  dear  friend, 
being  the  order  of  my  march,  I  will  move  gently  down  the 
stream  of  life  until  I  sleep  with  my  fathers.” 

And  subsequently  in  a  letter  to  the  Marchioness  de  La¬ 
fayette,  inviting  her  to  America  to  see  the  country,  “young, 
rude,  and  uncultivated  as  it  is,”  for  the  liberties  of  which 
her  husband  had  fought,  bled,  and  acquired  much  glory,  and 
where  everybody  admired  and  loved  him,  he  adds:  “I  am 
now  enjoying  domestic  ease  under  the  shadow  of  my  own 
vine  and  my  own  fig-tree,  in  a  small  villa,  with  the  imple¬ 
ments  of  husbandry  and  lambkins  about  me.  .  .  .  Come, 
then,  let  me  entreat  you,  and  call  my  cottage  your  own ;  for 


5(3 


U/or^g  of  U/ag^ipcJtoi)  Iruir><^ 


your  doors  do  not  open  to  you  with  more  readiness  than  mine 
would.  You  will  see  the  plain  manner  in  which  we  live, 
and  meet  with  rustic  civility;  and  you  shall  taste  the  sim¬ 
plicity  of  rural  life.  It  will  diversify  the  scene,  and  may 
give  you  a  higher  relish  for  the  gayeties  of  the  court  when 
you  return  to  Versailles.” 

During  the  winter  storms  he  anticipates  the  time  when 
the  return  of  the  sun  will  enable  him  to  welcome  his  friends 
and  companions  in  arms  to  partake  of  his  hospitality ;  and 
lays  down  his  unpretending  plan  of  receiving  the  curious 
visitors  who  are  likely  to  throng  in  upon  him.  “My  manner 
of  living,”  writes  he  to  a  friend,  “is  plain,  and  I  do  not  mean 
to  be  put  out  of  it.  A  glass  of  wine  and  a  bit  of  mutton  are 
always  ready ;  and  such  as  will  be  content  to  partake  of  them 
are  always  welcome.  Those  who  expect  more  will  be  disap¬ 
pointed.” 

Some  degree  of  economy  was  necessary,  for  his  financial 
concerns  had  suffered  during  the  war,  and  the  products  of 
his  estate  had  fallen  off  during  his  long  absence. 

In  the  meantime  the  supreme  council  of  Pennsylvania, 
properly  appreciating  the  disinterestedness  of  his  conduct, 
and  aware  that  popular  love  and  popular  curiosity  would 
attract  crowds  of  visitors  to  Mount  Vernon,  and  subject  him 
to  extraordinary  expenses,  had  instructed  their  delegates  in 
Congress  to  call  the  attention  of  that  body  to  these  circum¬ 
stances,  with  a  view  to  produce  some  national  reward  for  his 
eminent  services.  Before  acting  upon  these  instructions,  the 
delegates  were  instructed  to  send  a  copy  of  them  to  Wash¬ 
ington  for  his  approbation. 

He  received  the  documents  while  buried  in  accounts  and 
calculations,  and  when,  had  he  been  of  a  mercenary  disposi¬ 
tion,  the  offered  intervention  in  his  favor  would  have  seemed 


Cife  of  U/as^iQ^tOQ 


57 


most  seasonable ;  but  he  at  once  most  gratefully  and  respect¬ 
fully  declined  it,  jealously  maintaining  the  satisfaction  of 
having  served  his  country  at  the  sacrifice  of  his  private  in¬ 
terests. 

Applications  began  to  be  made  to  him  by  persons  desir¬ 
ous  of  writing  the  history  of  the  Revolution  for  access  to  the 
public  papers  in  his  possession.  He  excused  himself  from 
submitting  to  their  inspection  those  relative  to  the  occur¬ 
rences  and  transactions  of  his  late  command  until  Congress 
should  see  fit  to  open  their  archives  to  the  historian. 

His  old  friend,  Dr.  Craik,  made  a  similar  application  to 
Washington  in  behalf  of  a  person  who  purposed  to  write  his 
memoirs.  He  replied  that  any  memoir  of  his  life  distinct 
and  unconnected  with  the  general  history  of  the  war  would 
rather  hurt  his  feelings  than  flatter  his  pride,  while  he  could 
not  furnish  the  papers  and  information  connected  with  it 
without  subjecting  himself  to  the  imputation  of  vanity,  add¬ 
ing:  “I  had  rather  leave  it  to  posterity  to  think  and  say 
what  they  please  of  me  than,  by  any  act  of  mine,  to  have 
vanity  or  ostentation  imputed  to  me.” 

It  was  a  curious  circumstance  that,  scarce  had  Washing¬ 
ton  retired  from  the  bustle  of  arms  and  hung  up  his  sword 
at  Mount  Yernon,  when  he  received  a  letter  from  the  worthy 
who  had  first  taught  him  the  use  of  that  sword  in  these  very 
halls.  In  a  word,  Jacob  Van  Braam,  his  early  teacher  of 
the  sword  exercise,  his  fellow  campaigner  and  unlucky  in¬ 
terpreter  in  the  affair  of  the  Great  Meadows,  turned  up  once 
more.  His  letter  gave  a  glance  over  the  current  of  his  life. 
It  would  appear  that  after  the  close  of  the  French  war  he 
had  been  allowed  half  pay  in  consideration  of  his  services 
and  misadventures;  and,  in  process  of  time,  had  married 
and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Wales  with  his  wife  and  wife’s 


58 


U/orl^s  of  H/as^iQ^tOQ  Iruir)<$ 


mother.  He  had  carried  with  him  to  England  a  strong  feel¬ 
ing  in  favor  of  America,  and  on  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Revolution  had  been  very  free,  and,  as  he  seemed  to  think, 
eloquent  and  effective,  in  speaking  in  all  companies  and  at 
country  meetings  against  the  American  war.  Suddenly,  as 
if  to  stop  his  mouth,  he  received  orders  from  Lord  Amherst, 
then  commander-in-chief,  to  join  his  regiment  (the  60th),  in 
which  he  was  appointed  eldest  captain  in  the  3d  battalion. 
In  vain  he  pleaded  his  rural  occupations ;  his  farm  cultivated 
at  so  much  cost,  for  which  he  was  in  debt,  and  which  must 
go  to  ruin  should  he  abandon  it  so  abruptly.  No  excuse  was 
admitted — he  must  embark  and  sail  for  East  Florida,  or  lose 
his  half  pay.  He  accordingly  sailed  for  St.  Augustine  in 
the  beginning  of  1776,  with  a  couple  of  hundred  recruits 
picked  up  in  London,  resolving  to  sell  out  of  the  army  on 
the  first  opportunity.  By  a  series  of  cross-purposes  he  was 
prevented  from  doing  so  until  1779,  having  in  the  interim 
made  a  campaign  in  Georgia.  “He  quitted  the  service,”  he 
adds,  “with  as  much  pleasure  as  ever  a  young  man  entered 
it.” 

He  then  returned  to  England  and  took  up  his  residence 
in  Devonshire,  but  his  invincible  propensity  to  talk  against 
the  ministry  made  his  residence  there  uncomfortable.  His 
next  move,  therefore,  was  to  the  old  fertile  province  of  Or- 
leannois,  in  France,  where  he  was  still  living  near  Male- 
sherbes,  apparently  at  his  ease,  enjoying  the  friendship  of 
the  distinguished  personage  of  that  name,  and  better  versed, 
it  is  to  be  hoped,  in  the  French  language  than  when  he  offi¬ 
ciated  as  interpreter  in  the  capitulation  at  the  Great  Mead¬ 
ows.  The  worthy  major  appeared  to  contemplate  with  joy 
and  pride  the  eminence  to  which  his  early  pupil  in  the  sword 
exercise  had  attained. 


Cife  of  U/asI?ii)$toi} 


59 


“Give  me  leave,  sir,  before  I  conclude,”  writes  he,  “to 
pour  out  the  sentiments  of  my  soul  in  congratulations  for 
your  successes  in  the  American  contest;  and  in  wishing  you 
a  long  life  to  enjoy  the  blessing  of  a  great  people  whom  you 
have  been  the  chief  instrument  in  freeing  from  bondage.” 

So  disappears  from  the  scene  one  of  the  earliest  person- 
ages  of  our  history. 

As  spring  advanced,  Mount  Vernon,  as  had  been  antici¬ 
pated,  began  to  attract  numerous  visitors.  They  were  re¬ 
ceived  in  the  frank,  unpretending  style  Washington  had  de 
termined  upon.  It  was  truly  edifying  to  behold  how  easily 
and  contentedly  he  subsided  from  the  authoritative  com¬ 
mander-in-chief  of  armies  into  the  quiet  country  gentleman. 
There  was  nothing  awkward  or  violent  in  the  transition. 
He  seemed  to  be  in  his  natural  element.  Mrs.  W  ashington, 
too,  who  had  presided  with  quiet  dignity  at  headquarters, 
and  cheered  the  wintry  gloom  of  Valley  Forge  with  her 
presence,  presided  with  equal  amenity  and  grace  at  the  sim¬ 
ple  board  of  Mount  Vernon.  She  had  a  cheerful  good  sense 
that  always  made  her  an  agreeable  companion,  and  was  an 
excellent  manager.  She  has  been  remarked  for  an  inveter¬ 
ate  habit  of  knitting.  It  had  been  acquired,  or  at  least  fos¬ 
tered,  in  the  wintry  encampments  of  the  Revolution,  where 
she  used  to  set  an  example  to  her  lady  visitors  by  diligently 
plying  her  needles,  knitting  stockings  for  the  poor  destitute 
soldiery. 

In  entering  upon  the  outdoor  management  of  his  estate, 
Washington  was  but  doing  in  person  what  he  had  long  been 
doing  through  others.  He  had  never  virtually  ceased  to  be 
the  agriculturist.  Throughout  all  his  campaigns  he  had 
kept  himself  informed  of  the  course  of  rural  affairs  at  Mount 
Vernon.  By  means  of  maps,  on  which  every  field  was  laid 


U/orKs  of  U/a8l?ir}$tor)  IruiQ$ 


t>0 

down  and  numbered,  he  was  enabled  to  give  directions  for 
their  several  cultivation,  and  receive  accounts  of  their  sev¬ 
eral  crops.  No  hurry  of  affairs  prevented  a  correspondence 
with  his  overseer  or  agent,  and  he  exacted  weekly  reports. 
Thus  his  rural  were  interwoven  with  his  military  cares ;  the 
agriculturist  was  mingled  with  the  soldier;  and  those  strong 
sympathies  with  the  honest  cultivators  of  the  soil,  and  that 
paternal  care  of  their  interests  to  be  noted  throughout  his 
military  career,  may  be  ascribed,  in  a  great  measure,  to  the 
sweetening  influences  of  Mount  Vernon.  Yet  as  spring  re¬ 
turned,  and  he  resumed  his  rides  about  the  beautiful  neigh¬ 
borhood  of  this  haven  of  his  hopes,  he  must  have  been  mourn¬ 
fully  sensible,  now  and  then,  of  the  changes  which  time  and 
events  had  effected  there. ' 

The  Fairfaxes,  the  kind  friends  of  his  boyhood  and  social 
companions  of  his  riper  years,  were  no  longer  at  hand  to 
share  his  pleasures  and  lighten  his  cares.  There  were  no 
more  hunting  dinners  at  Bel  voir.  He  paid  a  sad  visit  to  that 
happy  resort  of  his  youth,  and  contemplated  with  a  mourn¬ 
ful  eye  its  charred  ruins,  and  the  desolation  of  its  once  orna¬ 
mented  grounds.  George  William  Fairfax,  its  former  pos¬ 
sessor,  was  in  England;  his  political  principles  had  detained 
him  there  during  the  war,  and  part  of  his  property  had  been 
sequestered;  still,  though  an  exile,  he  continued  in  heart  a 
friend  to  America,  his  hand  had  been  open  to  relieve  the  dis¬ 
tresses  of  Americans  in  England,  and  he  had  kept  up  a  cor¬ 
dial  correspondence  with  W ashington. 

Old  Lord  Fairfax,  the  Nimrod  of  Greenway  Court,  Wash¬ 
ington’s  early  friend  and  patron,  with  whom  he  had  first 
learned  to  follow  the  hounds,  had  lived  on  in  a  green  old  age 
at  his  sylvan  retreat  in  the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Shenan¬ 
doah;  popular  with  his  neighbors  and  unmolested  by  the 


Cifc  of  U/asl?ii7<Jtoi) 


61 


whigs,  although  frank  and  open  in  his  adherence  to  Great 
Britain.  He  had  attained  his  ninety-second  year  when  tid¬ 
ings  of  the  surrender  of  Yorktown  wounded  the  national 
pride  of  the  old  cavalier  to  the  quick,  and  snapped  the  at¬ 
tenuated  thread  of  his  existence.* 

The  time  was  now  approaching  when  the  first  general 
meeting  of  the  Order  of  Cincinnati  was  to  be  held,  and 
Washington  saw  with  deep  concern  a  popular  jealousy  awak¬ 
ened  concerning  it.  Judge  Burke,  of  South  Carolina,  had 
denounced  it  in  a  pamphlet  as  an  attempt  to  elevate  the  mili¬ 
tary  above  the  civil  classes,  and  to  institute  an  order  of  no¬ 
bility.  The  Legislature  of  Massachusetts  sounded  an  alarm 
that  was  echoed  in  Connecticut  and  prolonged  from  State  to 
State.  The  whole  Union  was  put  on  its  guard  against  this 
effort  to  form  a  hereditary  aristocracy  out  of  the  military 
chiefs  and  powerful  families  of  the  several  States. 

Washington  endeavored  to  allay  this  jealousy.  In  his 
letters  to  the  presidents  of  the  State  societies,  notifying  the 
meeting  which  was  to  be  held  in  Philadelphia  on  the  1st  of 


*  So,  at  least,  records  in  homely  prose  and  verse  a  rever¬ 
end  historiographer  of  Mount  Yernon.  “When  old  Lord 
Fairfax  heard  that  Washington  had  captured  Lord  Corn¬ 
wallis  and  all  his  army,  he  called  to  his  black  waiter,  ‘Come, 
Joe!  carry  me  to  bed,  for  it  is  high  time  for  me  to  die!’ 

Then  up  rose  Joe,  all  at  the  word, 

And  took  his  master’s  arm, 

And  thus  to  bed  he  softly  led 
The  lord  of  Greenway  farm. 

There  oft  he  called  on  Britain’s  name, 

And  oft  he  wept  full  sore, 

Then  sighed — Thy  will,  O  Lord,  be  done — 

And  word  spake  never  more. 

— See  Weems’  Life  of  Washington, 


62 


U/orK«  of  U/asl?ii)$toi)  Iruip$ 


May,  he  expressed  his  earnest  solicitude  that  it  should  be 
respectable  for  numbers  and  abilities,  and  wise  and  deliber¬ 
ate  in  its  proceedings,  so  as  to  convince  the  public  that  the 
objects  of  the  institution  were  patriotic  and  trustworthy. 

The  society  met  at  the  appointed  time  and  place.  Wash¬ 
ington  presided,  and  by  his  sagacious  counsels  effected  modi¬ 
fications  of  its  constitution.  The  hereditary  principle  and 
the  power  of  electing  honorary  members  were  abolished,  and 
it  was  reduced  to  the  harmless  but  highly  respectable  footing 
on  which  it  still  exists. 

In  notifying  the  French  military  and  naval  officers  in¬ 
cluded  in  the  society  of  the  changes  which  had  taken  place 
in  its  constitution,  he  expressed  his  ardent  hopes  that  it 
would  render  permanent  those  friendships  and  connections 
which  had  happily  taken  root  between  the  officers  of  the  two 
nations.  All  clamors  against  the  order  now  ceased.  It  be¬ 
came  a  rallying  place  for  old  comrades  in  arms,  and  Wash¬ 
ington  continued  to  preside  over  it  until  his  death. 

In  a  letter  to  the  Chevalier  de  Chastellux,  for  whom  he 
felt  an  especial  regard,  after  inviting  him  to  the  meeting,  he 
adds :  “I  will  only  repeat  to  you  the  assurances  of  my  friend¬ 
ship,  and  of  the  pleasure  I  should  feel  in  seeing  you  in  the 
shade  of  those  trees  which  my  hands  have  planted;  and 
which,  by  their  rapid  growth,  at  once  indicate  a  knowledge 
of  my  declining  years,  and  their  disposition  to  spread  their 
mantles  over  me,  before  I  go  hence  to  return  no  more.” 

On  the  17th  of  August  he  was  gladdened  by  having  the 
Marquis  de  Lafayette  under  his  roof,  who  had  recently  ar¬ 
rived  from  France.  The  marquis  passed  a  fortnight  with 
him,  a  loved  and  cherished  guest,  at  the  end  of  which  he  de¬ 
parted  for  a  time,  to  be  present  at  the  ceremony  of  a  treaty 
with  the  Indians. 


Cife  of  U/asf?ip<$tOQ 


63 


Washington  now  prepared  for  a  tour  to  the  west  cf  the 
Appalachian  Mountains,  to  visit  his  lands  on  the  Ohio  and 
Kanawha  Rivers.  Dr.  Craik,  the  companion  of  his  various 
campaigns,  and  who  had  accompanied  him  in  1770  on  a  simi¬ 
lar  tour,  was  to  be  his  fellow-traveler.  The  way  they  were 
to  travel  may  be  gathered  from  Washington’s  directions  to 
the  doctor:  “You  will  have  occasion  to  take  nothing  from 
home  but  a  servant  to  look  after  your  horses,  and  such  bed¬ 
ding  as  you  may  think  proper  to  make  use  of.  I  will  carry 
a  marquee,  some  camp  utensils,  and  a  few  stores.  A  boat 
or  some  other  kind  of  vessel  will  be  provided  for  the  voyage 
down  the  river,  either  at  my  place  on  the  Youghiogheny  or 
Fort  Pitt,  measures  for  this  purpose  having  already  been 
taken.  A  few  medicines,  and  hooks  and  lines,  you  may 
probably  want.” 

This  soldier-like  tour,  made  in  hardy  military  style,  with 
tent,  pack-horses,  and  frugal  supplies,  took  him  once  more 
among  the  scenes  of  his  youthful  expeditions  when  a  land 
surveyor  in  the  employ  of  Lord  Fairfax;  a  leader  of  Virginia 
militia,  or  an  aid-de-camp  of  the  unfortunate  Braddock.  A 
veteran  now  in  years,  and  a  general  renowned  in  arms,  he 
soberly  permitted  his  steed  to  pick  his  way  across  the  moun¬ 
tains  by  the  old  military  route  still  called  Braddock’s  Road, 
over  which  he  had  spurred  in  the  days  of  youthful  ardor. 
His  original  intention  had  been  to  survey  and  inspect  his 
lands  on  the  Monongahela  River ;  then  to  descend  the  Ohio  to 
the  Great  Kanawha,  where  also  he  had  large  tracts  of  wild 
land.  On  arriving  on  the  Monongahela,  however,  he  heard 
such  accounts  of  discontent  and  irritation  among  the  Indian 
tribes  that  he  did  not  consider  it  prudent  to  venture  among 
them.  Some  of  his  land  on  the  Monongahela  was  settled; 
the  rest  was  in  the  wilderness  and  of  little  value  in  the  pres- 


64 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?ii?$toi)  Iruip$ 


ent  unquiet  state  of  the  country.  He  abridged  his  tour, 
therefore ;  proceeded  no  further  west  than  the  Monongahela ; 
ascended  that  river,  and  then  struck  southward  through  the 
wild,  unsettled  regions  of  the  Alleghanies,  until  he  came  out 
into  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  near  Staunton.  He  returned 
to  Mount  Vernon  on  the  4th  of  October;  having,  since  the 
first  of  September,  traveled  on  horseback  six  hundred  and 
eighty  miles,  for  a  great  part  of  the  time  in  wild,  mountain¬ 
ous  country,  where  he  was  obliged  to  encamp  at  night. 
This,  like  his  tour  to  the  northern  forts  with  Governor  Clin¬ 
ton,  gave  proof  of  his  unfailing  vigor  and  activity. 

During  all  this  tour  he  had  carefully  observed  the  course 
and  character  of  the  streams  flowing  from  the  west  into  the 
Ohio,  and  the  distance  of  their  navigable  parts  from  the  head 
navigation  of  the  rivers  east  of  the  mountains,  with  the  near¬ 
est  and  best  portage  between  them.  For  many  years  he  had 
been  convinced  of  the  practicability  of  an  easy  and  short  com¬ 
munication  between  the  Potomac  and  James  Rivers,  and  the 
waters  of  the  Ohio,  and  thence  on  to  the  great  chain  of  lakes ; 
and  of  the  vast  advantages  that  would  result  therefrom  to 
the  States  of  Virginia  and  Maryland.  He  had  even  at¬ 
tempted  to  set  a  company  on  foot  to  undertake  at  their  own 
expense  the  opening  of  such  a  communication,  but  the  break¬ 
ing  out  of  the  Revolution  had  put  a  stop  to  the  enterprise. 
One  object  of  his  recent  tour  was  to  make  observations  and 
collect  information  on  the  subject;  and  all  that  he  had  seen 
and  heard  quickened  his  solicitude  to  carry  the  scheme  into 
effect. 

Political  as  well  as  commercial  interests,  he  conceived, 
were  involved  in  the  enterprise.  He  had  noticed  that  the 
flanks  and  rear  of  the  United  States  were  possessed  by  for¬ 
eign  and  formidable  powers,  who  might  lure  the  western 


Cife  of  U/a8f?ii73toi) 


65 


people  into  a  trade  and  alliance  with  them.  The  Western 
States,  he  observed,  stood  as  it  were  upon  a  pivot,  so  that 
the  touch  of  a  feather  might  turn  them  any  way.  They  had 
looked  down  the  Mississippi,  and  been  tempted  in  that  direc¬ 
tion  by  the  facilities  of  sending  everything  down  the  stream ; 
whereas  they  had  no  means  of  coming  to  us  but  by  long  land 
transportations  and  rugged  roads.  The  jealous  and  unto¬ 
ward  disposition  of  the  Spaniards,  it  was  true,  almost  barred 
the  use  of  the  Mississippi;  but  they  might  change  their  policy 
and  invite  trade  in  that  direction.  The  retention  by  the  Brit¬ 
ish  government,  also,  of  the  posts  of  Detroit,  Niagara  and 
Oswego,  though  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  treaty,  shut  up 
the  channel  of  trade  in  that  quarter.  These  posts,  however, 
would  eventually  be  given  up;  and  then,  he  was  persuaded, 
the  people  of  New  York  would  lose  no  time  in  removing 
every  obstacle  in  the  way  of  a  water  communication;  and 
“I  shall  be  mistaken,”  said  he,  “if  they  do  not  build  vessels 
for  the  navigation  of  the  lakes  which  will  supersede  the  ne¬ 
cessity  of  coasting  on  either  side.” 

It  behooved  Virginia,  therefore,  to  lose  no  time  in  avail¬ 
ing  herself  of  the  present  favorable  conjuncture  to  secure  a 
share  of  western  trade  by  connecting  the  Potomac  and  J ames 
Rivers  with  the  waters  beyond  the  mountains.  The  indus¬ 
try  of  the  western  settlers  had  hitherto  been  checked  by  the 
want  of  outlets  to  their  products,  owing  to  the  before-men¬ 
tioned  obstacles.  “But  smooth  the  road,”  said  he,  “and 
make  easy  the  way  for  them,  and  then  see  what  an  influx 
of  articles  will  pour  upon  us;  how  amazingly  our  exports 
will  be  increased  by  them,  and  how  amply  all  shall  be  com¬ 
pensated  for  any  trouble  and  expense  we  may  encounter  to 
effect  it.” 

Such  were  some  of  the  ideas  ably  and  amply  set  forth  by 


U/orl^s  of  U/as^ip^top  Iri/lp$ 


60 

him  in  a  letter  to  Benjamin  Harrison,  Governor  of  Virginia, 
who,  struck  with  his  plan  for  opening  the  navigation  of  the 
western  waters,  laid  the  letter  before  the  State  Legislature. 
The  favor  with  which  it  was  received  induced  Washington 
to  repair  to  Richmond  and  give  his  personal  support  to  the 
measure.  He  arrived  there  on  the  fifteenth  of  November. 

On  the  following  morning  a  committee  of  five  members 
of  the  House  of  Assembly,  headed  by  Patrick  Henry,  waited 
on  him  in  behalf  of  that  body,  to  testify  their  reverence  for 
his  character  and  affection  for  his  person,  and  their  sense  of 
the  proofs  given  by  him,  since  his  return  to  private  life,  that 
no  change  of  situation  could  turn  his  thoughts  from  the  wel¬ 
fare  of  his  country.  The  suggestions  of  W  ashington  in  his 
letters  to  the  governor  and  his  representations,  during  this 
visit  to  Richmond,  gave  the  first  impulse  to  the  great  sys¬ 
tem  of  internal  improvements  since  pursued  throughout  the 
United  States. 

At  Richmond  he  was  joined  by  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette; 
who  since  their  separation  had  accompanied  the  commis¬ 
sioners  to  Fort  Schuyler  and  been  present  at  the  formation 
of  a  treaty  with  the  Indians;  after  which  he  had  made  a 
tour  of  the  Eastern  States,  “crowned  everywhere,”  writes 
Washington,  “with  wreaths  of  love  and  respect.”  * 

They  returned  together  to  Mount  Vernon,  where  La¬ 
fayette  again  passed  several  days,  a  cherished  inmate  of 
the  domestic  circle. 

When  his  visit  was  ended,  Washington,  to  defer  the 
parting  scene,  accompanied  him  to  Annapolis.  On  return¬ 
ing  to  Mount  Vernon  he  wrote  a  farewell  letter  to  the  mar¬ 
quis,  bordering  more  upon  the  sentimental  than  almost  any 
other  in  his  multifarious  correspondence. 


*  Letter  of  Washington  to  the  Marchioness  de  Lafayette. 


Cife  of  U/as^ir><JtOQ 


67 


“In  the  moment  of  our  separation,  upon  the  road  as  I 
have  traveled,  and  every  hour  since,  I  have  felt  all  that  love, 
respect  and  attachment  for  you  with  which  length  of  years, 
close  connection  and  your  merits  have  inspired  me.  I  often 
asked  myself,  as  our  carriages  separated,  whether  that  was 
the  last  sight  I  ever  should  have  of  you?  And  though  I 
wished  to  answer  no,  my  fears  answered  yes.  I  called  to 
mind  the  days  of  my  youth,  and  found  they  had  long  since 
fled  to  return  no  more ;  that  I  was  now  descending  the  hill 
I  have  been  fifty-two  years  climbing,  and  that,  though  I 
was  blessed  with  a  good  constitution,  I  was  of  a  short-lived 
family,  and  might  soon  expect  to  be  entombed  in  the  man¬ 
sion  of  my  fathers.  These  thoughts  darkened  the  shades 
and  gave  a  gloom  to  the  picture,  and,  consequently,  to  my 
prospect  of  ever  seeing  you  again.” 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-FIVE 

Scheme  of  Inland  Navigation — Shares  of  Stock  offered  to  Washing¬ 
ton — Declined — Rural  Improvements — The  Tax  of  Letter-writ¬ 
ing — The  Tax  of  Sitting  for  Likenesses — Ornamental  Gardening 
— Management  of  the  Estate — Domestic  Life — Visit  of  Mr.  Wat¬ 
son — Reverential  Awe  inspired  by  Washington — Irksome  to 
him — Instances  of  his  Festive  Gayety — Of  his  Laughing — Pas¬ 
sion  for  Hunting  revived — Death  of  Gen.  Greene — His  Char¬ 
acter — Washington’s  Regrets  and  Encomiums — Letters  to  the 
French  Noblemen 

Washington’s  zeal  for  the  public  good  had  now  found 
a  new  channel;  or,  rather,  his  late  tours  into  the  interior 
of  the  Union  had  quickened  ideas  long  existing  in  his  mind 
on  the  subject  of  internal  navigation.  In  a  letter  to  Richard 


t>8 


U/or^s  of  U/asl?ii)^tor>  Iruir)<$ 


Henry  Lee,  recently  chosen  President  of  Congress,  he  urged 
it  upon  his  attention;  suggesting  that  the  western  waters 
should  be  explored,  their  navigable  capabilities  ascertained, 
and  that  a  complete  map  should  be  made  of  the  country; 
that  in  all  grants  of  land  by  the  United  States  there  should 
be  a  reserve  made  for  special  sale  of  all  mines,  mineral  and 
salt  springs ;  that  a  medium  price  should  be  adopted  for  the 
western  lands  sufficient  to  prevent  monopoly,  but  not  to  dis¬ 
courage  useful  settlers.  He  had  a  salutary  horror  of  “land 
jobbers”  and  “roaming  speculators,”  prowling  about  the 
country  like  wolves;  marking  and  surveying  valuable  spots 
to  the  great  disquiet  of  the  Indian  tribes.  “The  spirit  of 
emigration  is  great,”  said  he;  “people  have  got  impatient, 
and  though  you  cannot  stop  the  road,  it  is  yet  in  your  power 
to  mark  the  way ;  a  little  while  and  you  will  not  be  able  to 
do  either.” 

In  the  latter  part  of  December  he  was  at  Annapolis,  at 
the  request  of  the  Assembly  of  Virginia,  to  arrange  matters 
with  the  Assembly  of  Maryland  respecting  the  communica¬ 
tion  between  the  Potomac  and  the  western  waters.  Through 
his  indefatigable  exertions  two  companies  were  formed  under 
the  patronage  of  the  governments  of  these  States,  for  open¬ 
ing  the  navigation  of  the  Potomac  and  James  Rivers,  and 
he  was  appointed  president  of  both.  By  a  unanimous  vote 
of  the  Assembly  of  Virginia,  fifty  shares  in  the  Potomac, 
and  one  hundred  in  the  James  River  company,  were  appro¬ 
priated  for  his  benefit,  to  the  end  that,  while  the  great  works 
he  had  promoted  would  remain  monuments  of  his  glory,  they 

might  also  be  monuments  of  the  gratitude  of  his  country. 

% 

The  aggregate  amount  of  these  shares  was  about  forty 
thousand  dollars. 

Washington  was  exceedingly  embarrassed  by  the  appro- 


Cife  of  U/a6l?iQ<$tor7 


69 


priation.  To  decline  so  noble  and  unequivocal  a  testimonial 
of  the  good  opinion  and  good  will  of  his  countrymen  might 
be  construed  into  disrespect,  yet  he  wished  to  be  perfectly 
free  to  exercise  his  judgment  and  express  his  opinions  in  the 
matter,  without  being  liable  to  the  least  suspicion  of  inter¬ 
ested  motives.  It  had  been  his  fixed  determination,  also, 
when  he  surrendered  his  military  command,  never  to  hold 
any  other  office  under  government  to  which  emolument 
might  become  a  necessary  appendage.  From  this  resolu¬ 
tion  his  mind  had  never  swerved. 

"While,  however,  he  declined  to  receive  the  proffered 
shares  for  his  own  benefit,  he  intimated  a  disposition  to 
receive  them  in  trust,  to  be  applied  to  the  use  of  some  object 
or  institution  of  a  public  nature.  His  wishes  were  complied 
with,  and  the  shares  were  ultimately  appropriated  by  him 
to  institutions  devoted  to  public  education.  Yet,  though 
the  love  for  his  country  would  thus  interfere  with  his  love 
for  his  home,  the  dream  of  rural  retirement  at  Mount  Yernon 
still  went  on. 

“The  more  I  am  acquainted  with  agricultural  affairs,” 
he  says,  in  a  letter  to  a  friend  in  England,  “the  better  I  am 
pleased  with  them;  insomuch  that  I  can  nowhere  find  so 
much  satisfaction  as  in  those  innocent  and  useful  pursuits. 
While  indulging  these  feelings,  I  am  led  to  reflect,  how 
much  more  delightful  to  an  undebauched  mind  is  the  task 
of  making  improvements  on  the  earth,  than  all  the  vain¬ 
glory  that  can  be  acquired  from  ravaging  it  by  the  most 
uninterrupted  career  of  conquest. 

“How  pitiful,  in  this  age  of  reason  and  religion,  is  that 
false  ambition  which  desolates  the  world  with  fire  and  sword 
for  the  purpose  of  conquest  and  fame,  compared  to  the 
milder  virtues  of  making  our  neighbors  and  our  fellow-men 


70 


Worlds  of  W astyqqtOT)  Iruffiq 


as  happy  as  their  frail  convictions  and  perishable  natures 
will  permit  them  to  be.” 

He  had  a  congenial  correspondent  in  his  quondam  brother- 
soldier,  Governor  Clinton  of  Hew  York,  whose  spear,  like 
his  own,  had  been  turned  into  a  pruning-hook. 

“Whenever  the  season  is  proper  and  an  opportunity 
offers,”  writes  he  to  the  governor,  “I  shall  be  glad  to  re¬ 
ceive  the  balsam  trees  or  others  which  you  may  think  curious 
and  exotic  with  us,  as  I  am  endeavoring  to  improve  the 
grounds  about  my  house  in  this  way.”  He  recommends 
to  the  governor’s  care  certain  grapevines  of  the  choicest 
kinds  for  the  table,  which  an  uncle  of  the  Chevalier  de 
Luzerne  had  engaged  to  send  from  France,  and  which  must 
be  about  to  arrive  at  Hew  York.  He  is  literally  going  to 
sit  under  his  own  vine  and  his  own  fig-tree,  and  devote 
himself  to  the  quiet  pleasures  of  rural  life. 

At  the  opening  of  the  year  (1785)  the  entries  in  his  diary 
show  him  diligently  employed  in  preparations  to  improve  his 
groves  and  shrubbery.  On  the  10th  of  January  he  notes 
that  the  white  thorn  is  full  in  berry.  On  the  20th  he  begins 
to  clear  the  pine  groves  of  undergrowth. 

In  February  he  transplants  ivy  under  the  walls  of  the 
garden  to  which  it  still  clings.  In  March  he  is  planting 
hemlock  trees,  that  most  beautiful  species  of  American  ever¬ 
green,  numbers  of  which  had  been  brought  hither  from 
Occoquan.  In  April  he  is  sowing  holly  berries  in  drills, 
some  adjoining  a  green-brier  hedge  on  the  north  side  of  the 
garden  gate ;  others  in  a  semi-circle  on  the  lawn.  Many  of 
the  holly  bushes  thus  produced  are  still  flourishing  about  the 
place  in  full  vigor.  He  had  learned  the  policy,  not  suffi¬ 
ciently  adopted  in  our  country,  of  clothing  his  ornamented 
grounds  as  much  as  possible  with  evergreens,  which  resist 


Cife  of  U/asbip^toi) 


71 


the  rigors  of  our  winter,  and  keep  up  a  cheering  verdure 
throughout  the  year.  Of  the  trees  fitted  for  shade  in  pasture 
land  he  notes  the  locust,  maple,  black  mulberry,  black  wal¬ 
nut,  black  gum,  dogwood,  and  sassafras,  none  of  which,  he 
observes,  materially  injure  the  grass  beneath  them. 

Is  then  for  once  a  soldier’s  dream  realized?  Is  he  in  per¬ 
fect  enjoyment  of  that  seclusion  from  the  world  and  its  dis¬ 
tractions  which  he  had  so  often  pictured  to  himself  amid 
the  hardships  and  turmoils  of  the  camp?  Alas,  no!  The 
“post,”  that  “herald  of  a  noisy  world,”  invades  his  quiet 
and  loads  his  table  with  letters,  until  correspondence  becomes 
an  intolerable  burden. 

He  looks  in  despair  at  the  daily  accumulating  mass  of 
unanswered  letters.  “Many  mistakenly  think,”  writes  he, 
“that  I  am  retired  to  ease,  and  to  that  kind  of  tranquillity 
which  would  grow  tiresome  for  want  of  employment;  but 
at  no  period  of  my  life,  not  in  the  eight  years  I  served  the 
public,  have  I  been  obliged  to  write  so  much  myself,  as  I 
have  done  since  my  retirement.”*  Again — “It  is  not  the 
letters  from  my  friends  which  give  me  trouble,  or  add  aught 
to  my  perplexity.  It  is  references  to  old  matters,  with  which 
I  have  nothing  to  do;  applications  which  often  cannot  be 
complied  with;  inquiries  which  would  require  the  pen  of  a 
historian  to  satisfy;  letters  of  compliment  as  unmeaning 
perhaps  as  they  are  troublesome,  but  which  must  be  attended 
to ;  and  the  commonplace  business  which  employs  my  pen 
and  my  time  often  disagreeably.  These,  with  company, 
deprive  me  of  exercise,  and,  unless  I  can  obtain  relief, 
must  be  productive  of  disagreeable  consequences.” 

From  much  of  this  drudgery  of  the  pen  he  was  subse- 


*  Letter  to  Richard  Henry  Lee. 


72 


U/ori^8  of  U/asl?ir}$tor)  Iruii}<$ 


quently  relieved  by  Mr.  Tobias  Lear,  a  young  gentleman 
of  New  Hampshire,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College,  who 
acted  as  his  private  secretary,  and  at  the  same  time  took 
charge  of  the  instruction  of  the  two  children  of  the  late 
Mr.  Parke  Custis,  whom  Washington  had  adopted.. 

There  was  another  tax  imposed  by  his  celebrity  upon  his 
time  and  patience.  Applications  were  continually  made  to 
him  to  sit  for  his  likeness.  The  following  is  his  sportive 
reply  to  Mr.  Francis  Hopkinson,  who  applied  in  behalf  of 
Mr.  Pine: 

“  *  In  for  a  penny  in  for  a  pound,'  is  an  old  adage.  I 
am  so  hackneyed  to  the  touches  of  the  painters’  pencil  that 
I  am  altogether  at  their  beck,  and  sit  Tike  Patience  on  a 
monument,’  while  they  are  delineating  the  lines  of  my  face. 
It  is  a  proof,  among  many  others,  of  what  habit  and  custom 
can  accomplish.  At  first  1  was  impatient  at  the  request,  and 
as  restive  under  the  operation  as  a  colt  is  under  the  saddle. 
The  next  time  I  submitted  very  reluctantly,  but  with  less 
flouncing.  Now  no  dray-horse  moves  more  readily  to  his 
thill  than  I  to  the  painter’s  chair.  It  may  easily  be  con¬ 
ceived,  therefore,  that  I  yield  a  ready  obedience  to  your 
request,  and  to  the  views  of  Mr.  Pine.” 

It  was  not  long  after  this  that  M.  Houdon,  an  artist  of 
great  merit,  chosen  by  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Dr.  Franklin, 
arrived  from  Paris  to  make  a  study  of  Washington  for  a 
statue,  for  the  Legislature  of  Virginia.  He  remained  a  fort¬ 
night  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  having  formed  his  model,  took 
it  with  him  to  Paris,  where  he  produced  that  excellent  statue 
and  likeness  to  be  seen  in  the  State  House  in  Richmond, 
Virginia. 

Being  now  in  some  measure  relieved  from  the  labors  of 
the  pen,  Washington  had  more  time  to  devote  to  his  plan 


Cife  of  U/asl?ir}<$t:or)  73 

for  ornamental  cultivation  of  the  grounds  about  liis 
dwelling. 

We  find  in  his  diary  noted  down  with  curious  exactness 
each  day’s  labor  and  the  share  he  took  in  it;  his  frequent 
rides  to  the  Mill  Swamp;  the  Dogue  Creek;  the  “Plantation 
of  the  Neck,”  and  other  places  along  the  Potomac  in  quest 
of  young  elms,  ash  trees,  white  thorn,  crab-apples,  maples, 
mulberries,  willows,  and  lilacs;  'the  winding  walks  which 
he  lays  out,  and  the  trees  and  shrubs  which  he  plants  along 
them.  Now  he  sows  acorns  and  buck-eye  nuts  brought  by 
himself  from  the  Monongahela ;  now  he  opens  vistas  through 
the  Pine  Grove,  commanding  distant  views  through  the 
woodlands;  and  now  he  twines  round  his  columns  scarlet 
honeysuckles,  which  his  gardener  tells  him  will  blow  all  the 
summer. 

His  careworn  spirit  freshens  up  in  these  employments. 
With  him  Mount  Vernon  is  a  kind  of  idyl.  The  transient 
glow  of  poetical  feeling  which  once  visited  his  bosom,  when 
in  boyhood  he  rhymed  beneath  its  groves,  seems  about  to 
return  once  more;  and  we  please  ourselves  with  noting^ 
among  the  trees  set  out  by  him,  a  group  of  young  horse- 
chestnuts  from  Westmoreland,  his  native  county,  the  haunt 
of  his  schoolboy  days;  which  had  been  sent  to  him  by 
Colonel  Lee  (Light-horse  Harry),  the  son  of  his  “Low¬ 
land  Beauty.” 

A  diagram  of  the  plan  in  which  he  had  laid  out  his 
grounds  still  remains  among  his  papers  at  Mount  Vernon; 
the  places  are  marked  on  it  for  particular  trees  and  shrubs. 
Some  of  those  trees  and  shrubs  are  still  to  be  found  in  the 
places  thus  assigned  to  them.  In  the  present  neglected  state 
of  Mount  Vernon,  its  walks  are  overgrown,  and  vegetation 

runs  wild ;  but  it  is  deeply  interesting  still  to  find  traces  of 

Vol.  XV.—*  *  *  4 


74 


Xl/or^s  of  U/asl?iQ<JtOQ  Iruip^ 


these  toils  in  which  Washington  delighted,  and  to  know  that 
many  of  the  trees  which  give  it  its  present  umbrageous 
beauty  were  planted  by  his  hand. 

The  ornamental  cultivation  of  which  we  have  spoken  was 
confined  to  the  grounds  appertaining  to  what  was  called  the 
mansion  -  house  farm ;  but  his  estate  included  four  other 
farms,  all  lying  contiguous,  and  containing  three  thousand 
two  hundred  and  sixty  acres;  each  farm  having  its  bailiff 
or  overseer,  with  a  house  for  his  accommodation,  barns  and 
outhouses  for  the  produce,  and  cabins  for  the  negroes.  On 
a  general  map  of  the  estate,  drawn  out  by  "Washington  him¬ 
self,  these  farms  were  all  laid  down  accurately  and  their 
several  fields  numbered ;  he  knew  the  soil  and  local  qualities 
of  each,  and  regulated  the  culture  of  them  accordingly. 

In  addition  to  these  five  farms  there  were  several  hundred 
acres  of  fine  woodland,  so  that  the  estate  presented  a  beau¬ 
tiful  diversity  of  land  and  water.  In  the  stables  near  the 
mansion-house  were  the  carriage  and  saddle  horses,  of  which 
he  was  very  choice ;  on  the  four  farms  there  were  54  draught 
horses,  12  mules,  317  head  of  black  cattle,  360  sheep,  and 
a  great  number  of  swine,  which  last  ran  at  large  in  the 
woods. 

He  now  read  much  on  husbandry  and  gardening,  and 
copied  out  treatises  on  those  subjects.  He  corresponded  also 
with  the  celebrated  Arthur  Young;  from  whom  he  obtained 
seeds  of  all  kinds,  improved  plows,  plans  for  laying  out  farm¬ 
yards,  and  advice  on  various  parts  of  rural  economy. 

“Agriculture,”  writes  he  to  him,  “has  ever  been  among 
the  most  favored  of  my  amusements,  though  I  have  never 
possessed  much  skill  in  the  art,  and  nine  years’  total  inat¬ 
tention  to  it  has  added  nothing  to  a  knowledge  which  is  best 
understood  from  practice ;  but  with  the  means  you  have  been 


Cife  of  U/a8f?ir)<$tor} 


75 


so  obliging  as  to  furnish  me,  I  shall  return  to  it,  though 
rather  late  in  the  day,  with  more  alacrity  than  ever.” 

In  the  management  of  his  estate  he  was  remarkably 
exact.  No  negligence  on  the  part  of  the  overseers  or  those 
under  them  was  passed  over  unnoticed.  He  seldom  used 
many  words  on  the  subject  of  his  plans;  rarely  asked  advice; 
but,  when  once  determined,  carried  them  directly  and  silently 
into  execution ;  and  was  not  easily  dissuaded  from  a  project 
when  once  commenced. 

We  have  shown,  in  a  former  chapter,  his  mode  of  appor¬ 
tioning  time  at  Mount  Vernon,  prior  to  the  Revolution.  The 
same  system  was,  in  a  great  measure,  resumed.  His  active 
day  began  some  time  before  the  dawn.  Much  of  his  corre¬ 
spondence  was  dispatched  before  breakfast,  which  took  place 
at  half-past  seven.  After  breakfast  he  mounted  his  horse, 
which  stood  ready  at  the  door,  and  rode  out  to  different  parts 
of  his  estate,  as  he  used  to  do  to  various  parts  of  the  camp, 
to  see  that  all  was  right  at  the  outposts,  and  every  one  at 
his  duty.  At  half-past  two  he  dined. 

If  there  was  no  company  he  would  write  until  dark,  or, 
if  pressed  by  business,  until  nine  o’clock  in  the  evening; 
otherwise  he  read  in  the  evening,  or  amused  himself  with 
a  game  of  whist. 

His  secretary,  Mr.  Lear,  after  two  years’  residence  in 
the  family  on  the  most  confidential  footing,  says — “General 
Washington  is,  I  believe,  almost  the  only  man  of  an  exalted 
character  who  does  not  lose  some  part  of  his  respectability 
by  an  intimate  acquaintance.  I  have  never  found  a  single 
thing  that  could  lessen  my  respect  for  him.  A  complete 
knowledge  of  his  honesty,  uprightness  and  candor  in  all 
his  private  transactions  has  sometimes  led  me  to  think  him 
more  than  a  man.” 


76 


U/orKs  of  U/asbm<$toi)  In/ir?<$ 


The  children  of  Parke  Custis  formed  a  lively  part  of  his 
household.  He  was  fond  of  children  and  apt  to  unbend  with 
them.  Miss  Custis,  recalling  in  after  life  the  scenes  of  her 
childhood,  writes,  “I  have  sometimes  made  him  laugh  most 
heartily  from  sympathy  with  my  joyous  and  extravagant 
spirits ;”  she  observes,  however,  that  “he  was  a  silent, 
thoughtful  man.  He  spoke  little  generally;  never  of  him¬ 
self.  I  never  heard  him  relate  a  single  act  of  his  life  during 
the  war.  I  have  often  seen  him  perfectly  abstracted,  his 
lips  moving;  but  no  sound  was  perceptible.” 

An  observant  traveler,  Mr.  Elkanah  Watson,  who  visited 
Mount  Vernon  in  the  winter  of  1785,  bearer  of  a  letter  of 
introduction  from  General  Greene  and  Colonel  Fitzgerald, 
gives  a  home  picture  of  Washington  in  his  retirement. 
Though  sure  that  his  credentials  would  secure  him  a  re¬ 
spectful  reception,  he  says,  “I  trembled  with  awe  as  I  came 
into  the  presence  of  this  great  man.  I  found  him  at  table 
with  Mrs.  Washington  and  his  private  family,  and  was  re¬ 
ceived  in  the  native  dignity,  and  with  that  urbanity  so 
peculiarly  combined  in  the  character  of  a  soldier  and  an 
eminent  private  gentleman.  He  soon  put  me  at  my  ease, 
by  unbending,  in  a  free  and  affable  conversation. 

“The  cautious  reserve  which  wisdom  and  policy  dictated, 
while  engaged  in  rearing  the  glorious  fabric  of  our  independ¬ 
ence,  was  evidently  the  result  of  consummate  prudence  and 
not  characteristic  of  his  nature.  I  observed  a  peculiarity  in 
his  smile,  which  seemed  to  illuminate  his  eye;  his  whole 
countenance  beamed  with  intelligence,  while  it  commanded 
confidence  and  respect. 

“I  found  him  kind  and  benignant  in  the  domestic  circle; 
revered  and  beloved  by  all  around  him;  agreeably  social, 
without  ostentation;  delighting  in  anecdote  and  venture; 


Cife  of  U/asl?ir)<$tor) 


77 


without  assumption ;  his  domestic  arrangements  harmonious 
and  systematic.  His  servants  seemed  to  watch  his  eye  and 
to  anticipate  his  every  wish;  hence  a  look  was  equivalent 
to  a  command.  His  servant  Billy,  the  faithful  companion 
of  his  military  career,  was  always  at  his  side.  Smiling 
content  animated  and  beamed  on  every  countenance  in  his 
presence.’  ’ 

In  the  evening  Mr.  Watson  sat  conversing  for  a  full  hour 
with  Washington  after  all  the  family  had  retired,  expecting, 
perhaps,  to  hear  him  fight  over  some  of  his  battles;  but, 
if  so,  he  was  disappointed,  for  he  observes:  “He  modestly 
waived  all  allusions  to  the  events  in  which  he  had  acted  so 
glorious  and  conspicuous  a  part.  Much  of  his  conversation 
had  reference  to  the  interior  country,  and  to  the  opening  of 
the  navigation  of  the  Potomac  by  canals  and  locks,  at  the 
Seneca,  the  Great  and  Little  Falls.  His  mind  appeared 
to  be  deeply  absorbed  by  that  object,  then  in  earnest  con¬ 
templation.” 

Mr.  Watson  had  taken  a  severe  cold  in  the  course  of  a 
harsh  winter  journey,  and  coughed  excessively.  Washing¬ 
ton  pressed  him  to  take  some  remedies,  but  he  declined. 
After  retiring  for  the  night  his  coughing  increased.  “When 
some  time  had  elapsed,”  writes  he,  “the  door  of  my  room 
was  gently  opened,  and,  on  drawing  my  bed  curtains,  I 
beheld  Washington  himself,  standing  at  my  bedside  with 
a  bowl  of  hot  tea  in  his  hand.  I  was  mortified  and  distressed 
beyond  expression.  This  little  incident,  occurring  in  com¬ 
mon  life  with  an  ordinary  man,  would  not  have  been  no¬ 
ticed;  but  as  a  trait  of  the  benevolence  and  private  virtue 
of  Washington,  deserves  to  be  recorded.” 

The  late  Bishop  White,  in  subsequent  years,  speaking 
of  Washington’s  unassuming  manners,  observes:  “I  know 


78 


U/orks  of  U/a8f?ir><$toi}  Iruir?<$ 


no  man  who  so  carefully  guarded  against  the  discoursing 
of  himself  or  of  his  acts,  or  of  anything  that  pertained  to 
him;  and  it  has  occasionally  occurred  to  me  when  in  his 
company,  that,  if  a  stranger  to  his  person  were  present,  he 
would  never  have  known  from  anything  said  by  him  that 
he  was  conscious  of  having  distinguished  himself  in  the  eye 
of  the  world.” 

An  anecdote  is  told  of  Washington’s  conduct  while  com¬ 
mander-in-chief,  illustrative  of  his  benignant  attention  to 
others  and  his  freedom  from  all  assumption.  While  the 
army  was  encamped  at  Morristown  he  one  day  attended  a 
religious  meeting  where  divine  service  was  to  be  celebrated 
in  the  open  air.  A  chair  had  been  set  out  for  his  use.  J  ust 
before  the  service  commenced,  a  woman  with  a  child  in  her 
arms  approached.  All  the  seats  were  occupied.  Washing¬ 
ton  immediately  rose,  placed  her  in  the  chair  which  had  been 
assigned  to  him  and  remained  standing  during  the  whole 
service.* 

The  reverential  awe  which  his  deeds  and  elevated  posi¬ 
tion  threw  around  him  was  often  a  source  of  annoyance  to 
him  in  private  life;  especially  when  he  perceived  its  effect 
upon  the  young  and  gay.  We  have  been  told  of  a  case  in 
point,  when  he  made  his  appearance  at  a  private  ball  where 
all  were  enjoying  themselves  with  the  utmost  glee.  The 
moment  he  entered  the  room  the  buoyant  mirth  was  checked; 
the  dance  lost  its  animation ;  every  face  was  grave ;  every 
tongue  was  silent.  He  remained  for  a  time,  endeavoring 
to  engage  in  conversation  with  some  of  the  young  people 
and  to  break  the  spell;  finding  it  in  vain,  he  retired  sadly 
to  the  company  of  the  elders  in  an  adjoining  room,  express- 


*  MS.  notes  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  F.  Tuttle. 


Cife  of  U/asbip^top 


79 


ing  his  regret  that  his  presence  should  operate  as  such  a 
damper.  After  a  little  while  light  laughter  and  happy 
voices  again  resounded  from  the  ballroom;  upon  which  he 
rose  cautiously  ,  approached  on  tiptoe  the  door,  which  was 
ajar,  and  there  stood  for  some  time  a  delighted  spectator 
of  the  youthful  revelry. 

Washington,  in  fact,  though  habitually  grave  and  thought¬ 
ful,  was  of  a  social  disposition  and  loved  cheerful  society. 
He  was  fond  of  the  dance;  and  it  was  the  boast  of  many 
ancient  dames  in  our  day,  who  had  been  belles  in  the  time 
of  the  Revolution,  that  they  had  danced  minuets  with  him, 
or  had  him  for  a  partner  in  contra-dances.  There  were  balls 
in  camp,  in  some  of  the  dark  times  of  the  Revolution.  “We 
had  a  little  dance  at  my  quarters,”  writes  General  Greene 
from  Middlebrook,  in  March,  1779.  “His  Excellency  and 
Mrs.  Greene  danced  upward  of  three  hours  without  once 
sitting  down.  Upon  the  whole,  we  had  a  pretty  little  frisk.  ”  * 

A  letter  of  Colonel  Tench  Tilghman,  one  of  Washington’s 
aides-de-camp,  gives  an  instance  of  the  general’s  festive  gay- 
ety  when,  in  the  above  year,  the  army  was  cantoned  near 
Morristown.  A  large  company,  of  which  the  General  and 
Mrs.  Washington,  General  and  Mrs.  Greene,  and  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Olney  were  part,  dined  with  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Biddle. 
Some  little  time  after  the  ladies  had  retired  from  table,  Mr. 
Olney  followed  them  into  the  next  room.  A  clamor  was 
raised  against  him  as  a  deserter,  and  it  was  resolved  that  a 
party  should  be  sent  to  demand  him,  and  that  if  the  ladies 
refused  to  give  him  up  he  should  be  brought  by  force. 
Washington  humored  the  joke  and  offered  to  head  the 
party.  He  led  it  with  great  formality  to  the  door  of  the 


*  Greene  to  Colonel  W  adsworth.  MS. 


80 


U/or^s  of  U/a8l?ii)$tor)  Iruir)<$ 


drawing-room  and  sent  in  a  summons.  The  ladies  refused 
to  give  up  the  deserter.  An  attempt  was  made  to  capture 
him.  The  ladies  came  to  the  rescue.  There  was  a  melee, 
in  the  course  of  which  his  Excellency  seems  to  have  had  a 
passage  at  arms  with  Mrs.  Olney.  The  ladies  were  victori¬ 
ous,  as  they  always  ought  to  be,  says  the  gallant  Tilghman.* 

Mr.  Olney  wrote  to  Colonel  Tilghman,  begging  him  to 
refute  the  scandal.  The  latter  gave  a  true  statement  of  the 
affair,  declaring  that  the  whole  was  done  in  jest,  and  that  in 
the  mock-contest  Mrs.  Olney  had  made  use  of  no  expressions 
unbecoming  a  lady  of  her  good  breeding,  or  such  as  were 
taken  the  least  amiss  by  the  general. 

More  than  one  instance  is  told  of  Washington’s  being 
surprised  into  hearty  fits  of  laughter,  even  during  the  war. 
We  have  recorded  one  produced  by  the  sudden  appearance 
of  old  General  Putnam  on  horseback,  with  a  female  prisoner 
en  croupe.  The  following  is  another  which  occurred  at  the 
camp  at  Morristown.  Washington  had  purchased  a  young 
horse  of  great  spirit  and  power.  A  braggadocio  of  the  army, 
vain  of  his  horsemanship,  asked  the  privilege  of  breaking  it. 
Washington  gave  his  consent,  and  with  some  of  his  officers 
attended  to  see  the  horse  receive  his  first  lesson.  After 
much  preparation,  the  pretender  to  equitation  mounted  into 
the  saddle  and  was  making  a  great  display  of  his  science, 
when  the  horse  suddenly  planted  his  forefeet,  threw  up  his 
heels,  and  gave  the  unlucky  Gambado  a  somerset  over  his 
head.  Washington,  a  thorough  horseman,  and  quick  to  per- 


*  This  sportive  occurrence  gave  rise  to  a  piece  of  camp 
scandal.  It  was  reported  at  a  distance  that  Mrs.  Olney  had 
been  in  a  violent  rage,  and  had  told  Washington  that,  “if  he 
did  not  let  go  her  hand  she  would  tear  his  eyes  out,  and  that, 
though  he  was  a  general,  he  was  but  a  man.” 


Cife  of  U/asl^ip^tor) 


81 


ceive  the  ludicrous  in  these  matters,  was  so  convulsed  with 
laughter  that,  we  are  told,  the  tears  ran  down  his  cheeks.  * 

Still  another  instance  is  given,  which  occurred  at  the  re¬ 
turn  of  peace,  when  he  was  sailing  in  a  boat  on  the  Hudson, 
and  was  so  overcome  by  the  drollery  of  a  story  told  by  Ma¬ 
jor  Fairlie  of  New  York,  of  facetious  memory,  that  he  fell 
back  in  the  boat  in  a  paroxysm  of  laughter.  In  that  fit  of 
laughter  it  was  sagely  presumed  that  he  threw  off  the  bur¬ 
den  of  care  which  had  been  weighing  down  his  spirits 
throughout  the  war.  He  certainly  relaxed  much  of  his 
thoughtful  gravity  of  demeanor  when  he  had  no  longer  the 
anxieties  of  a  general .  command  to  harass  him.  The  late 
Judge  Brooke,  who  had  served  as  an  officer  in  the  legion 
of  Light-horse  Harry,  used  to  tell  of  having  frequently  met 
Washington  on  his  visits  to  Fredericksburg  after  the  Revolu¬ 
tionary  war,  and  how  “hilarious’ ’  the  general  was  on  those 
occasions  with  “Jack  Willis  and  other  friends  of  his  young 
days,”  laughing  heartily  at  the  comic  songs  which  were 
sung  at  table. 

Colonel  Henry  Lee,  too,  who  used  to  be  a  favored  guest 
at  Mount  Vernon,  does  not  seem  to  have  been  much  under 
the  influence  of  that  “reverential  awe”  which  Washington 
is  said  to  have  inspired,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  following 
anecdote.  Washington  one  day  at  table  mentioned  his  being 
in  want  of  carriage  horses,  and  asked  Lee  if  he  knew  where 
he  could  get  a  pair. 

“I  have  a  fine  pair,  general,”  replied  Lee,  “but  you  can¬ 
not  get  them.” 

“Why  not?” 

“Because  you  will  never-  pay  more  than  half  price  for 
anything,  and  I  must  have  full  price  for  my  horses.” 


*  Notes  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Tuttle.  MS. 


H2 


U/or^s  of  U/as^ir^troi?  Iruii7<$ 


The  bantering  reply  set  Mrs.  Washington  laughing,  and 
her  parrot,  perched  beside  her,  joined  in  the  laugh.  The 
general  took  this  familiar  assault  upon  his  dignity  in  great 
good  part.  “Ah,  Lee,  you  are  a  funny  fellow,”  said  he — 
“see,  that  bird  is  laughing  at  you.”  * 

Hearty  laughter,  however,  was  rare  with  Washington. 
The  sudden  explosions  we  hear  of  were  the  result  of  some 
sudden  and  ludicrous  surprise.  His  general  habit  was  a 
calm  seriousness,  easily  softening  into  a  benevolent  smile. 

In  some  few  of  his  familiar  letters  yet  preserved,  and  not 
relating  to  business,  there  is  occasionally  a  vein  of  pleasantry 
and  even  of  humor ;  but  almost  invariably  they  treat  of  mat¬ 
ters  of  too  grave  import  to  admit  of  anything  of  the  kind. 
It  is  to  be  deeply  regretted  that  most  of  his  family  letters 
have  been  purposely  destroyed. 

NOTE 

Another  instance  is  on  record  of  one  of  Washington’s  fits 
of  laughter  which  occurred  in  subsequent  years.  J udge  Mar¬ 
shall  and  Judge  Washington,  a  relative  of  the  general,  were 
on  their  way  on  horseback  to  visit  Mount  Vernon,  attended 
by  a  black  servant  who  had  charge  of  a  large  portmanteau 
containing  their  clothes.  As  they  passed  through  a  wood 
on  the  skirts  of  the  Mount  Vernon  grounds  they  were 
tempted  to  make  a  hasty  toilet  beneath  its  shade,  being 
covered  with  .dust  from  the  state  of  the  roads.  Dismount¬ 
ing,  they  threw  off  their  dusty  garments,  while  the  servant 
took  down  the  portmanteau.  As  he  opened  it,  out  flew  cakes 
of  Windsor  soap  and  fancy  articles  of  all  kinds.  The  man  by 
mistake  had  changed  their  portmanteau  at  the  last  stopping 
place  for  one  which  resembled  it  belonging  to  a  Scotch  ped- 


¥  Communicated  to  us  in  a  letter  from  a  son  of  Colonel 
Lee. 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii)<$toi) 


83 


dler.  The  consternation  of  the  negro,  and  their  own  dis¬ 
mantled  state,  struck  them  so  ludicrously  as  to  produce  loud 
and  repeated  bursts  of  laughter.  Washington,  who  hap¬ 
pened  to  be  out  upon  his  grounds,  was  attracted  by  the 
noise,  and  so  overcome  by  the  strange  plight  of  his  friends 
and  the  whimsicality  of  the  whole  scene  that  he  is  said  to 
have  actually  rolled  on  the  grass  with  laughter. — See  Life 
of  Judge  J.  Smith. 

The  passion  for  hunting  had  revived  with  W ashington  on 
returning  to  his  old  hunting-grounds ;  but  he  had  no  hounds. 
His  kennel  had  been  broken  up  when  he  went  to  the  wars, 
and  the  dogs  given  away,  and  it  was  not  easy  to  replace 
them.  After  a  time  he  received  several  hounds  from  France, 
sent  out  by  Lafayette  and  other  of  the  French  officers,  and 
once  more  sallied  forth  to  renew  his  ancient  sport.  The 
French  hounds,  however,  proved  indifferent;  he  was  out 
with  them  repeatedly,  putting  other  hounds  with  them  bor¬ 
rowed  from  gentlemen  of  the  neighborhood.  They  im¬ 
proved,  after  a  while,  but  were  never  stanch,  and  caused 
him  frequent  disappointments.  Probably  he  was  not  as 
stanch  himself  as  formerly;  an  interval  of  several  years 
may  have  blunted  his  keenness,  if  we  may  judge  from  the 
following  entry  in  his  diary : 

“Out  after  breakfast  with  my  hounds;  found  a  fox  and 
ran  him,  sometimes  hard,  and  sometimes  at  cold;  hunting 
from  11  till  near  2 — when  I  came  home  and  left  the  hunts¬ 
men  with  them,  who  followed  in  the  same  manner  two  hours 
or  more,  and  then  took  the  dogs  off  without  killing.” 

He  appears  at  one  time  to  have  had  an  idea  of  stocking 
part  of  his  estate  with  deer.  In  a  letter  to  his  friend,  Georg© 
William  Fairfax,  in  England,  a  letter  expressive  of  kind  rec¬ 
ollections  of  former  companionship,  he  says:  “Though  envy 


84 


U/orKs  of  \I/asl?io<$tor)  Iruir)<$ 


is  no  part  of  my  composition,  yet  the  picture  you  have  drawn 
of  your  present  habitation  and  mode  of  living  is  enough  to 
create  a  strong  desire  in  me  to  be  a  participator  of  the  tran¬ 
quillity  and  rural  amusements  you  have  described.  I  am 
getting  into  the  latter  as  fast  as  I  can,  being  determined  to 
make  the  remainder  of  my  life  easy,  let  the  world  or  the 
affairs  of  it  go  as  they  may.  I  am  not  a  little  obliged  to  you 
for  contributing  to  this,  by  procuring  me  a  buck  and  doe  of 
the  best  English  deer;  but  if  you  have  not  already  been  at 
this  trouble,  I  would,  my  good  sir,  now  wish  to  relieve  you 
from  it,  as  Mr.  Ogle,  of  Maryland,  has  been  so  obliging  as 
to  present  me  six  fawns  from  his  park  of  English  deer  at 
Bellair.  With  these,  and  tolerable  care,  I  shall  soon  have  a 
full  stock  for  my  small  paddock.* 

While  Washington  was  thus  calmly  enjoying  himself, 
came  a  letter  from  Henry  Lee,  who  was  now  in  Congress, 
conveying  a  mournful  piece  of  intelligence:  “Your  friend 
and  second,  the  patriot  and  noble  Greene,  is  no  more.  Uni¬ 
versal  grief  reigns  here.”  Greene  died  on  the  18th  of  June, 
at  his  estate  of  Mulberry  Grove,  on  Savannah  River,  pre¬ 
sented  to  him  by  the  State  of  Georgia.  His  last  illness  was 
brief ;  caused  by  a  stroke  of  the  sun ;  he  was  but  forty-four 
years  of  age. 

The  news  of  his  death  struck  heavily  on  Washington’s 
heart,  to  whom,  in  the  most  arduous  trials  of  the  Revolu¬ 
tion,  he  had  been  a  second  self.  He  had  taken  Washington 
as  his  model,  and  possessed  naturally  many  of  his  great 

*  George  William  Fairfax  resided  in  Bath,  where  he  died 
on  the  3d  of  April,  1787,  in  the  sixty-third  year  of  his  age. 
Though  his  income  was  greatly  reduced  by  the  confiscation 
of  his  property  in  Virginia,  he  contributed  generously  dur¬ 
ing  the  Revolutionary  war  to  the  relief  of  American  prisoners. 
—Sparks’  Washington’s  Writings,  v.  ii. ,  p.  53. 


Cife  of  U/asI?ii)<$tor) 


85 


qualities.  Like  him  he  was  sound  in  judgment;  persever¬ 
ing  in  the  midst  of  discouragements ;  calm  and  self-possessed 
in  time  of  danger;  heedful  of  the  safety  of  others;  heedless 
of  his  own.  Like  him  he  was  modest  and  unpretending, 
and  like  him  he  had  a  perfect  command  of  temper. 

He  had  Washington's  habits  of  early  rising,  and  close 
and  methodical  dispatch  of  business,  “never  suffering  the  day 
to  crowd  upon  the  morrow.”  In  private  intercourse  he  was 
frank,  noble,  candid  and  intelligent ;  in  the  hurry  of  busi¬ 
ness  he  was  free  from  petulance,  and  had,  we  are  told,  “a 
winning  blandness  of  manner  that  won  the  affections  of  his 
officers.” 

His  campaigns  in  the  Carolinas  showed  him  to  be  a 
worthy  disciple  of  Washington,  keeping  the  war  alive  by 
his  own  persevering  hope  and  inexhaustible  energy,  and,  as 
it  were,  fighting  almost  without  weapons.  His  great  con¬ 
test  of  generalship  with  the  veteran  Cornwallis  has  insured 
for  him  a  lasting  renown. 

“He  was  a  great  and  good  man!”  was  Washington’s 
comprehensive  eulogy  on  him ;  and  in  a  letter  to  Lafayette 
he  writes:  “Greene’s  death  is  an  event  which  has  given 
such  general  concern,  and  is  so  much  regretted  by  his  nu¬ 
merous  friends,  that  I  can  scarce  persuade  myself  to  touch 
upon  it,  even  so  far  as  to  say  that  in  him  you  lost  a  man 
who  affectionately  regarded  and  was  a  sincere  admirer  of 
you. 

Other  deaths  pressed  upon  Washington’s  sensibility  about 


*  We  are  happy  to  learn  that  a  complete  collection  of  the 
correspondence  of  General  Greene  is  about  to  be  published 
by  his  worthy  and  highly  cultivated  grandson,  George  Wash¬ 
ington  Greene.  It  is  a  work  that,  like  Sparks’  Writings  of 
Washington,  should  form  a  part  of  every  American  library. 


86 


U/or^s  of  U/asl?ii)$toi)  Irvip$ 


the  same  time.  That  of  General  McDougall,  who  had  served 
his  country  faithfully  through  the  war,  and  since  with  equal 
fidelity  in  Congress.  That,  too,  of  Colonel  Tench  Tilghman, 
for  a  long  time  one  of  Washington’s  aides-de-camp,  and 
“who  left,”  writes  he,  “as  fair  a  reputation  as  ever  be¬ 
longed  to  a  human  character.”  “Thus,”  adds  he,  “some 
of  the  pillars  of  the  Revolution  fall.  Others  are  mouldering 
by  insensible  degrees.  May  our  country  never  want  props 
to  support  the  glorious  fabric.” 

In  his  correspondence,  about  this  time,  with  several  of 
the  French  noblemen  who  had  been  his  associates  in  arms, 
his  letters  breathe  the  spirit  of  peace  which  was  natural  to 
him ;  for  war  with  him  had  only  been  a  matter  of  patriotism 
and  public  duty.  To  the  Marquis  de  la  Rouerie,  who  had 
so  bravely  but  modestly  fought  under  the  title  of  Colonel 
Armand,  he  writes:  “I  never  expect  to  draw  my  sword 
again.  I  can  scarcely  conceive  the  cause  that  would  in¬ 
duce  me  to  do  it.  My  time  is  now  occupied  by  rural  amuse¬ 
ments,  in  which  I  have  great  satisfaction;  and  my  first  wish 
is  (although  it  is  against  the  profession  of  arms,  and  would 
clip  the  wings  of  some  of  our  young  soldiers  who  are  soaring 
after  glory)  to  see  the  whole  world  in  peace,  and  the  inhab¬ 
itants  of  it  as  one  band  of  brothers,  striving  who  should  con¬ 
tribute  most  to  the  happiness  of  mankind.” 

So,  also,  in  a  letter  to  Count  Rochambeau,  dated  July 
ol,  1786:  “It  must  give  pleasure,”  writes  he,  “to  the  friends 
of  humanity,  even  in  this  distant  section  of  the  globe,  to  find 
that  the  clouds  which  threatened  to  burst  in  a  storm  of  war 
on  Europe  have  dissipated  and  left  a  still  brighter  horizon. 

.  .  .  As  the  rage  of  conquest,  which  in  times  of  barbarity 
stimulated  nations  to  blood,  has  in  a  great  measure  ceased; 
as  the  objects  which  formerly  gave  birth  to  wars  are  daily 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii)<$toi) 


87 


diminishing,  and  as  mankind  are  becoming  more  enlight¬ 
ened  and  humanized,  I  cannot  but  flatter  myself  with  the 
pleasing  prospect  that  a  more  liberal  policy  and  more  pacific 
systems  will  take  place  among  them.  To  indulge  this  idea 
affords  a  soothing  consolation  to  a  philanthropic  mind;  in¬ 
somuch  that,  although  it  should  be  found  an  illusion,  one 
would  hardly  wish  to  be  divested  of  an  error  so  grateful  in 
itself  and  so  innocent  in  its  consequences.” 

And  in  another  letter:  “It  is  thus,  you  see,  my  dear 
count,  in  retirement  upon  my  farm  I  speculate  upon  the  fate 
of  nations,  amusing  myself  with  innocent  reveries  that  man¬ 
kind  will  one  day  grow  happier  and  better.” 

How  easily  may  the  wisest  of  men  be  deceived  in  their 
speculations  as  to  the  future,  especially  when  founded  on  the 
idea  of  the  perfectibility  of  human  nature.  These  halcyon 
dreams  of  universal  peace  were  indulged  on  the  very  eve,  as 
it  were,  of  the  French  Revolution,  which  was  to  deluge  the 
world  in  blood,  and  when  the  rage  for  conquest  was  to  have 
unbounded  scope  under  the  belligerent  sway  of  Napoleon. 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-SIX 

Washington  doubts  the  Solidity  of  the  Confederation — Correspond¬ 
ence  with  John  Jay  on  the  Subject — Plan  of  a  Convention  of  all 
the  States  to  revise  the  Federal  System — Washington  heads  the 
Virginia  Delegation — Insurrection  in  Massachusetts — The  Con¬ 
vention — A  Federal  Constitution  organized — Ratified 

From  his  quiet  retreat  of  Mount  Vernon,  Washington, 
though  ostensibly  withdrawn  from  public  affairs,  was  watch¬ 
ing  with  intense  solicitude  the  working  together  of  the  sev¬ 
eral  parts  in  the  great  political  confederacy;  anxious  to 


88 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?ii)$toi)  Iruffi$ 


know  whether  the  thirteen  distinct  States,  under  the  present 
organization,  could  form  a  sufficiently  efficient  general  gov¬ 
ernment.  He  was  daily  becoming  more  and  more  doubtful 
of  the  solidity  of  the  fabric  he  had  assisted  to  raise.  The 
form  of  confederation  which  had  bound  the  States  together 
and  met  the  public  exigencies  during  the  Revolution,  when 
there  was  a  pressure  of  external  danger,  was  daily  proving 
more  and  more  incompetent  to  the  purposes  of  a  national 
government.  Congress  had  devised  a  system  of  credit  to 
provide  for  the  national  expenditure  and  the  extinction  of 
the  national  debts,  which  amounted  to  something  more  than 
forty  millions  of  dollars.  The  system  experienced  neglect 
from  some  States  and  opposition  from  others,  each  consult¬ 
ing  its  local  interests  and  prejudices,  instead  of  the  interests 
and  obligations  of  the  whole.  In  like  manner  treaty  stipula¬ 
tions,  which  bound  the  good  faith  of  the  whole,  were  slighted, 
if  not  violated,  by  individual  States,  apparently  unconscious 
that  they  must  each  share  in  the  discredit  thus  brought  upon 
the  national  name. 

In  a  letter  to  James  Warren,  who  had  formerly  been 
President  of  the  Massachusetts  Provincial  Congress,  Wash¬ 
ington  writes:  “The  confederation  appears  to  me  to  be  little 
more  than  a  shadow  without  the  substance,  and  Congress  a 
nugatory  body ;  their  ordinances  being  little  attended  to.  To 
me  it  is  a  solecism  in  politics;  indeed,  it  is  one  of  the  most 
extraordinary  things  in  nature  that  we  should  confederate 
as  a  nation,  and  yet  be  afraid  to  give  the  rulers  of  that  na¬ 
tion  (who  are  creatures  of  our  own  making,  appointed  for  a 
limited  and  short  duration,  and  who  are  amenable  for  every 
action  and  may  be  recalled  at  any  moment,  and  are  subject 
to  all  the  evils  which  they  may  be  instrumental  in  produc¬ 
ing)  sufficient  powers  to  order  and  direct  the  affairs  of  the 


Cife  of  U/a8^ir)<$toi7 


89 


same.  By  such  policy  as  this  the  wheels  of  government  are 
clogged,  and  our  brightest  prospects,  and  that  high  expecta¬ 
tion  which  was  entertained  of  us  by  the  wondering  world, 
are  turned  into  astonishment;  and  from  the  high  ground  on 
which  we  stood  we  are  descending  into  the  vale  of  confusion 
and  darkness.”  * 

Not  long  previous  to  the  writing  of  this  letter  Washing¬ 
ton  had  been  visited  at  Mount  Vernon  by  commissioners, 
who  had  been  appointed  by  the  Legislatures  of  Virginia  and 
Maryland  to  form  a  compact  relative  to  the  navigation  of 
the  rivers  Potomac  and  Pocomoke,  and  of  part  of  the  Chesa¬ 
peake  Bay,  and  who  had  met  at  Alexandria  for  the  purpose. 
During  their  visit  at  Mount  Vernon  the  policy  of  maintain¬ 
ing  a  naval  force  on  the  Chesapeake,  and  of  establishing  a 
tariff  of  duties  on  imports  to  which  the  laws  of  both  States 
should  conform  was  discussed,  and  it  was  agreed  that  the 
commissioners  should  propose  to  the  governments  of  their 
respective  States  the  appointment  of  other  commissioners, 
with  powers  to  make  conjoint  arrangements  for  the  above 
purposes;  to  which  the  assent  of  Congress  was  to  be  solicited. 

The  idea  of  conjoint  arrangements  between  States  thus 
suggested  in  the  quiet  councils  of  Mount  Vernon  was  a  step 
in  the  right  direction,  and  will  be  found  to  lead  to  important 
results. 

From  a  letter,  written  two  or  three  months  subsequently, 
we  gather  some  of  the  ideas  on  national  policy  which  were 
occupying  Washington’s  mind.  “I  have  ever  been  a  friend 
to  adequate  powers  in  Congress,  without  which  it  is  evident 
to  me  we  never  shall  establish  a  national  character,  or  be 
considered  as  on  a  respectable  footing  by  the  powers  of  Eu- 


*  Sparks,  ix.  139. 


90 


ll/or^s  of  U/asl?ir)$toi)  Iruir)$ 


rope.  We  are  either  a  united  people  under  one  head  and  for 
federal  purposes,  or  we  are  thirteen  independent  sovereign¬ 
ties,  eternally  counteracting  each  other.  If  the  former, 
whatever  such  a  majority  of  the  States  as  the  constitution 
points  out,  conceives  to  be  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole, 
should,  in  my  humble  opinion,  be  submitted  to  by  the  mi¬ 
nority.  I  can  foresee  no  evil  greater  than  disunion;  than 
those  unreasonable  jealousies  (I  say  unreasonable,  because 
I  would  have  a  proper  jealousy  always  awake,  and  the 
United  States  on  the  watch  to  prevent  individual  States  from 
infracting  the  constitution  with  impunity)  which  are  contin¬ 
ually  poisoning  our  minds  and  filling  them  with  imaginary 
evils  j or  the  prevention  of  real  ones.”  * 

An  earnest  correspondence  took  place  some  months  sub¬ 
sequently  between  Washington  and  the  illustrious  patriot, 
John  Jay,  at  that  time  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  wherein 
the  signs  of  the  times  were  feelingly  discussed. 

“Our  affairs,”  writes  Jay,  “seem  to  lead  to  some  crisis, 
something  that  I  cannot  foresee  or  conjecture.  I  am  uneasy 
and  apprehensive,  more  so  than  during  the  war.  Then  we 
had  a  fixed  object,  and  though  the  means  and  time  of  obtain¬ 
ing  it  were  problematical,  yet  I  did  firmly  believe  that  we 
should  ultimately  succeed,  because  I  did  firmly  believe  that 
justice  was  with  us.  The  case  is  now  altered.  We  are  go¬ 
ing  and  doing  wrong,  and  therefore  I  look  forward  to  evils 
and  calamities,  but  without  being  able  to  guess  at  the  instru¬ 
ment,  nature,  or  measure  of  them.  .  .  .  What  I  most  fear 
is  that  the  better  kind  of  people,  by  which  I  mean  the  people 
who  are  orderly  and  industrious,  who  are  content  with  their 
situations  and  not  uneasy  in  their  circumstances,  will  be  led 


*  See  Letter  to  James  McHenry.  Sparks,  ix.  121. 


Cife  of  U/as^ip^tOQ 


91 


by  the  insecurity  of  property,  the  loss  of  public  faith  and 
rectitude,  to  consider  the  charms  of  liberty  as  imaginary  and 
delusive.  A  state  of  uncertainty  and  fluctuation  must  dis¬ 
gust  and  alarm.”  Washington,  in  reply,  coincided  in  opin¬ 
ion  that  public  affairs  were  drawing  rapidly  to  a  crisis,  and 
he  acknowledged  the  event  to  be  equally  beyond  his  fore¬ 
sight.  “We  have  errors,”  said  he,  “to  correct.  We  have 
probably  had  too  good  an  opinion  of  human  nature  in  form¬ 
ing  our  confederation.  *  Experience  has  taught  us  that  men 
will  not  adopt  and  carry  into  execution  measures  the  best 
calculated  for  their  own  good  without  the  intervention  of  co¬ 
ercive  power.  I  do  not  conceive  we  can  exist  long  as  a  na¬ 
tion  without  lodging,  somewhere,  a  power  which  will  pervade 
the  whole  Union  in  as  energetic  a  manner  as  the  authority 
of  the  State  governments  extends  over  the  several  States. 
To  be  fearful  of  investing  Congress,  constituted  as  that  body 
is,  with  ample  authorities  for  national  purposes,  appears  to 
me  the  very  climax  of  popular  absurdity  and  madness. 
Could  Congress  exert  them  for  the  detriment  of  the  people 
without  injuring  themselves  in  an  equal  or  greater  propor¬ 
tion?  Are  not  their  interests  inseparably  connected  with 
those  of  their  constituents?  By  the  rotation  of  appointments 
must  they  not  mingle  frequently  with  the  mass  of  the  citi¬ 
zens?  Is  it  not  rather  to  be  apprehended,  if  they  were  not 
possessed  of  the  powers  before  described,  that  the  individual 
members  would  be  induced  to  use  them,  on  many  occasions, 
very  timidly  and  inefficaciously,  for  fear  of  losing  their  popu¬ 
larity  and  future  election?  We  must  take  human  nature  as 
we  find  it ;  perfection  falls  not  to  the  share  of  mortals. 

“What  then  is  to  be  done?  things  cannot  go  on  in  the 
same  strain  forever.  It  is  much  to  be  feared,  as  you  ob¬ 
serve,  that  the  better  kind  of  people,  being  disgusted  with 


92 


U/orl^s  of  U/astyir^tor?  Iruiq<$ 


these  circumstances,  will  have  their  minds  prepared  for  any 
revolution  whatever.  We  are  apt  to  run  from  one  extreme 
to  another.  ...  I  am  told  that  even  respectable  characters 
speak  of  a  monarchial  form  of  government  without  horror. 
From  thinking  proceeds  speaking,  thence  acting  is  often  but 
a  single  step.  But  how  irrevocable  and  tremendous!  What 
a  triumph  for  our  enemies  to  verify  their  predictions !  What  a 
triumph  for  the  advocates  of  despotism  to  find  that  we  are 
incapable  of  governing  ourselves,  and  that  systems  founded 
on  the  basis  of  equal  liberty  are  merely  ideal  and  fallacious ! 
Would  to  God  that  wise  measures  may  be  taken  in  time 
to  avert  the  consequences  we  have  but  too  much  reason  to 
apprehend. 

“Retired  as  I  am  from  the  world,  I  frankly  acknowledge 
I  cannot  feel  myself  an  unconcerned  spectator.  Yet,  hav¬ 
ing  happily  assisted  in  bringing  the  ship  into  port,  and  hav¬ 
ing  been  fairly  discharged,  it  is  not  my  business  to  embark 
again  on  the  sea  of  troubles. 

“Nor  could  it  be  expected  that  my  sentiments  and  opin¬ 
ions  would  have  much  weight  in  the  minds  of  my  country¬ 
men.  They  have  been  neglected,  though  given  as  a  last 
legacy,  in  a  most  solemn  manner.  I  then,  perhaps,  had 
some  claims  to  public  attention.  I  consider  myself  as  hav¬ 
ing  none  at  present.” 

His  anxiety  on  this  subject  was  quickened  by  accounts 
of  discontents  and  commotions  in  the  Eastern  States  pro¬ 
duced  by  the  pressure  of  the  times,  the  public  and  private 
indebtedness,  and  the  imposition  of  heavy  taxes  at  a  moment 
of  financial  embarrassment. 

General  Knox,  now  Secretary  of  War,  who  had  been 
sent  by  Congress  to  Massachusetts  to  inquire  into  these 
troubles,  thus  writes  about  the  insurgents:  “Their  creed  is 


Cife  of  U/asfyir)<$tor) 


93 


that  the  property  of  the  United  States  has  been  protected 
from  the  confiscation  of  Britain  by  the  joint  exertions  of  all, 
and  therefore  ought  to  be  the  common  property  of  all ,  and 
he  that  attempts  opposition  to  this  creed  is  an  enemy  to 
equity  and  justice,  and  ought  to  be  swept  from  off  the  face 
of  the  earth.”  Again:  “They  are  determined  to  annihilate 
all  debts,  public  and  private,  and  have  agrarian  laws,  which 
are  easily  effected  by  the  means  of  unfunded  paper,  which 
shall  be  a  tender  in  all  cases  whatever.” 

In  reply  to  Colonel  Henry  Lee  in  Congress,  who  had 
addressed  several  letters  to  him  on  the  subject,  "Washington 
writes:  “You  talk,  my  good  sir,  of  employing  influence 
to  appease  the  present  tumults  in  Massachusetts.  I  know 
not  where  that  influence  is  to  be  found,  or,  if  attainable,  that 
it  would  be  a  proper  remedy  for  the  disorders.  Influence 
is  not  government.  Let  us  have  a  government  by  which 
our  lives,  liberties  and  properties  will  be  secured,  or  let  us 
know  the  worst  at  once.  There  is  a  call  for  decision.  Know 
precisely  what  the  insurgents  aim  at.  If  they  have  real 
grievances,  redress  them,  if  possible;  or  acknowledge  the 
justice  of  them  and  your  inability  to  do  it  at  the  moment. 
If  they  have  not,  employ  the  force  of  government  against 
them  at  once.  If  this  is  inadequate,  all  will  be  convinced 
that  the  superstructure  is  bad  and  wants  support.  To  delay 
one  or  other  of  these  expedients  is  to  exasperate  on  the  one 
hand,  or  to  give  confidence  on  the  other.  .  .  .  Let  the  reins 
of  government,  then,  be  braced  and  held  with  a  steady  hand, 

and  every  violation  of  the  constitution  be  reprehended.  If 

* 

defective,  let  it  be  amended ;  but  not  suffered  to  be  trampled 
upon  while  it  has  an  existence.” 

A  letter  to  him  from  his  former  aid-de-camp,  Colonel 
Humphreys,  dated  Hew  Haven,  November  1st,  says:  “The 


94 


U/orKs  of  U/asfyii}<$toi}  Iruip$ 


troubles  in  Massachusetts  still  continue.  Government  is 
prostrated  in  the  dust,  and  it  is  much  to  be  feared  that  there 
is  not  energy  enough  in  that  State  to  re-establish  the  civil 
powers.  The  leaders  of  the  mob,  whose  fortunes  and  meas¬ 
ures  are  desperate,  are  strengthening  themselves  daily ;  and 
it  is  expected  that  they  will  soon  take  possession  of  the  Con¬ 
tinental  magazine  at  Springfield,  in  which  there  are  from 
ten  to  fifteen  thousand  stand  of  arms  in  excellent  order. 

“A  general  want  of  compliance  with  the  requisitions  of 
Congress  for  money  seems  to  prognosticate  that  we  are 
rapidly  advancing  to  a  crisis.  Congress,  I  am  told,  are 
seriously  alarmed  and  hardly  know  which  way  to  turn  or 
what  to  expect.  Indeed,  my  dear  General,  nothing  but  a 
good  Providence  can  extricate  us  from  the  present  convul¬ 
sion. 

“In  case  of  civil  discord  I  have  already  told  you  it  was 
seriously  my  opinion  that  you  could  not  remain  neuter,  and 
that  you  would  be  obliged,  in  self-defense,  to  take  one  part 
or  the  other,  or  withdraw  from  the  continent.  Y  our  friends 
are  of  the  same  opinion.” 

Close  upon  the  receipt  of  this  letter  came  intelligence  that 
the  insurgents  of  Massachusetts,  far  from  being  satisfied  with 
the  redress  which  had  been  offered  by  their  general  court, 
were  still  acting  in  open  violation  of  law  and  government; 
and  that  the  chief  magistrate  had  been  obliged  to  call  upon 
the  militia  of  the  State  to  support  the  constitution. 

“What,  gracious  God!  is  man,”  writes  Washington, 
“that  there  should  be  such  inconsistency  and  perfidiousness 
in  his  conduct.  It  was  but  the  other  day  that  we  were  shed¬ 
ding  our  blood  to  obtain  the  constitutions  under  which  we 
now  live;  constitutions  of  our  own  choice  and  making;  and 
now  we  are  unsheating  the  sword  to  overturn  them.  The 


Cife  of  U/a8^iQ^tor> 


95 


thing  is  so  unaccountable  that  I  hardly  know  how  to  realize 
it,  or  to  persuade  myself  that  I  am  not  under  the  illusion  of 
a  dream.  ’  ’ 

His  letters  to  Knox  show  the  trouble  of  his  mind.  “I  feel, 
my  dear  General  Knox,  infinitely  more  than  I  can  express 
to  you,  for  the  disorders  which  have  arisen  in  these  States. 
Good  God!  who,  besides  a  tory,  could  have  foreseen,  or  a 
Briton  predicted  them?  I  do  assure  you  that,  even  at  this 
moment,  when  I  reflect  upon  the  present  prospect  of  our 
affairs,  it  seems  to  me  to  be  like  the  vision  of  a  dream.  .  . 
After  what  I  have  seen,  or  rather  what  I  have  heard,  1 
shall  be  surprised  at  nothing;  for  if,  three  years  since,  any 
person  had  told  me  that  there  would  have  been  such  a  for¬ 
midable  rebellion  as  exists  at  this  day  against  the  laws  and 
constitution  of  our  own  making,  I  should  have  thought  him 
a  bedlamite,  a  fit  subject  for  a  madhouse.  .  .  In  regret¬ 
ting,  which  I  have  often  done  with  the  keenest  sorrow,  the 
death  of  our  much  lamented  friend,  General  Greene,  I  have 
accompanied  it  of  late  with  a  query,  whether  he  would  not 
have  preferred  such  an  exit  to  the  scenes  which,  it  is  more 
than  probable,  many  of  his  compatriots  may  live  to  be¬ 
moan.  ’  ’ 

To  James  Madison,  also,  he  writes  in  the  same  strain, 
“How  melancholy  is  the  reflection  that  in  so  short  a  time 
we  should  have  made  such  large  strides  toward  fulfilling 
the  predictions  of  our  transatlantic  foes!  ‘Leave  them 
to  themselves,  and  their  government  will  soon  dissolve.’ 
Will  not  the  wise  and  good  strive  hard  to  avert  this  evil? 
Or  will  their  supineness  suffer  ignorance  and  the  arts  of 
self-interested  and  designing,  disaffected  and  desperate  char¬ 
acters  to  involve  this  great  country  in  wretchedness  and 
contempt?  What  stronger  evidence  can  be  given  of  the 


U/orl^s  of  U/asbffi^tor)  Iruir><$ 


9G 

want  of  energy  in  our  government  than  these  disorders?  If 
there  is  not  power  in  it  to  check  them,  what  security  has  a 
man  for  life,  liberty  or  property?  To  you,  I  am  sure,  I  need 
not  add  aught  on  the  subject.  The  consequences  of  a  lax 
or  inefficient  government  are  too  obvious  to  be  dwelt  upon. 
Thirteen  sovereignties  pulling  against  each  other,  and  all 
tugging  at  the  federal  head,  will  soon  bring  ruin  on  the 
whole;  whereas,  a  liberal  and  energetic  constitution,  well 
checked  and  well  watched,  to  prevent  encroachments,  might 
restore  us  to  that  degree  of  respectability  and  consequence 
to  which  we  had  the  fairest  prospect  of  attaining.” 

Thus  W ashington,  even  though  in  retirement,  was  almost 
unconsciously  exercising  a  powerful  influence  on  national 
affairs;  no  longer  the  soldier,  he  was  now  becoming  the 
statesman.  The  opinions  and  counsels  given  in  his  letters 
were  widely  effective.  The  leading  expedient  for  federal 
organization,  mooted  in  his  conferences  with  the  commis¬ 
sioners  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  during  their  visit  to  Mount 
Vernon  in  the  previous  year,  had  been  extended  and  ripened 
in  legislative  assemblies,  and  ended  in  a  plan  of  a  convention 
composed  of  delegates  from  all  the  States,  to  meet  in  Phila¬ 
delphia  for  the  sole  and  express  purpose  of  revising  the  fed¬ 
eral  system  and  correcting  its  defects;  the  proceedings  of 
the  convention  to  be  subsequently  reported  to  Congress  and 
the  several  Legislatures  for  approval  and  confirmation. 

Washington  was  unanimously  put  at  the  head  of  the 
Virginia  delegation;  but  for  some  time  objected  to  accept 
the  nomination.  He  feared  to  be  charged  with  inconsistency 
in  again  appearing  in  a  public  situation  after  his  declared 
resolution  to  the  contrary.  “It  will  have  also,”  said  he,  “a 
tendency  to  sweep  me  back  into  the  tide  of  public  affairs, 
when  retirement  and  ease  are  so  much  desired  by  me,  and 


Cife  of  U/asfyip^tor) 


97 


so  essentially  necessary.”  *  Besides,  he  had  just  avowed  his 
intention  of  resigning  the  presidency  of  the  Cincinnati  Society, 
which  was  to  hold  its  triennial  meeting  in  May,  in  Philadel¬ 
phia,  and  he  could  not  appear  at  the  same  time  and  place  on 
any  other  occasion  without  giving  offense  to  his  worthy  com¬ 
panions  in  arms,  the  late  officers  of  the  American  army. 

These  considerations  were  strenuously  combated,  for  the 
weight  and  influence  of  his  name  and  counsel  were  felt  to  be 
all-important  in  giving  dignity  to  the  delegation.  Two  things 
contributed  to  bring  him  to  a  favorable  decision:  First,  an 
insinuation  that  the  opponents  of  the  convention  were  mon¬ 
archists,  who  wished  the  distractions  of  the  country  should 
continue  until  a  monarchial  government  might  be  resorted 
to  as  an  ark  of  safety.  The  other  was  the  insurrection  in 
Massachusetts. 

Having  made  up  his  mind  to  serve  as  a  delegate  to  the 
convention,  he  went  into  a  course  of  preparatory  reading  on 
the  history  and  principles  of  ancient  and  modern  confeder¬ 
acies.  An  abstract  of  the  general  principles  of  each,  with 
notes  of  their  vices  or  defects,  exists  in  his  own  handwriting 
among  his  papers;  though  it  is  doubted  by  a  judicious  com¬ 
mentator  f  whether  it  was  originally  drawn  up  by  him,  as 
several  works  are  cited  which  are  written  in  languages  that 
he  did  not  understand. 

Before  the  time  arrived  for  the  meeting  of  the  convention, 
which  was  the  second  Monday  in  May,  his  mind  was  relieved 
from  one  source  of  poignant  solicitude  by  learning  that  the 
insurrection  in  Massachusetts  had  been  suppressed  with  but 


*  Letter  to  Edmund  Randolph,  Governor  of  Virginia, 
t  Mr.  Sparks.  For  this  interesting  document  see  Writ¬ 
ings  of  Washington,  vol.  ix.,  Appendix,  No.  iv. 

Vol.  XV.— 5 **  *5 


98 


U/orl^s  of  U/asfyir)<$tor)  Iruii7<$ 


little  bloodshed,  and  that  the  principals  had  fled  to  Canada. 
He  doubted,  however,  the  policy  of  the  Legislature  of  that 
State  in  disfranchising  a  large  number  of  its  citizens  for  their 
rebellious  conduct,  thinking  more  lenient  measures  might 
have  produced  as  good  an  effect  without  entirely  alienating 
the  affections  of  the  people  from  the  government,  besides 
depriving  some  of  them  of  the  means  of  gaining  a  livelihood. 

On  the  9th  of  May,  Washington  set  out  in  his  carriage 
from  Mount  Vernon  to  attend  the  convention. 

At  Chester,  where  he  arrived  on  the  13th,  he  was  met  by 
General  Mifflin,  now  speaker  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly, 
Generals  Knox  and  Varnum,  Colonel  Humphreys  and  other 
personages  of  note.  At  Gray’s  Ferry  the  city  light-horse 
were  in  attendance,  by  whom  he  was  escorted  to  Phila¬ 
delphia. 

It  was  not  until  the  25th  of  May  that  a  sufficient  number 
of  delegates  were  assembled  .to  form  a  quorum;  when  they 
proceeded  to  organize  a  body,  and  by  a  unanimous  vote 
Washington  was  called  up  to  the  chair  as  President. 

The  following  anecdote  is  recorded  by  Mr.  Leigh  Pierce, 
who  was  a  delegate  from  Georgia.  When  the  convention 
first  opened  there  were  a  number  of  propositions  brought  for¬ 
ward  as  great  leading  principles  of  the  new  government  to 
be  established.  A  copy  of  them  was  given  to  each  member, 
with  an  injunction  of  profound  secrecy.  One  morning  a 
member,  by  accident,  dropped  his  copy  of  the  propositions. 
It  was  luckily  picked  up  by  General  Mifflin  and  handed  to 
General  Washington,  who  put  it  in  his  pocket.  After  the 
debates  of  the  day  were  over,  and  the  question  for  adjourn¬ 
ment  was  called  for,  Washington  rose,  and,  previous  to 
putting  the  question,  addressed  the  committee  as  follows: 
4 ‘Gentlemen,  I  am  sorry  to  find  that  some  one  member  of 


Cife  of  U/as!?ir}<$i:or} 


09 


this  body  has  been  so  neglectful  of  the  secrets  of  the  conven¬ 
tion  as  to  drop  in  the  State  House  a  copy  of  their  proceedings, 
which,  by  accident,  was  picked  up  and  delivered  to  me  this 
morning.  I  must  entreat  gentlemen  to  be  more  careful,  lest 
our  transactions  get  into  the  newspapers  and  disturb  the  public 
repose  by  premature  speculations.  I  know  not  whose  paper 
it  is,  but  there  it  is  (throwing  it  down  on  the  table) ;  let  him 
who  owns  it  take  it.”  At  the  same  time  he  bowed,  took  his 
hat,  and  left  the  room  with  a  dignity  so  severe  that  every 
person  seemed  alarmed.  “For  my  part  I  was  extremely 
so,”  adds  Mr.  Pierce,  “for,  putting  my  hand  in  my  pocket, 
I  missed  my  copy  of  the  same  paper;  but,  advancing  to  the 
table,  my  fears  soon  dissipated.  I  found  it  to  be  in  the  hand¬ 
writing  of  another  person.” 

Mr.  Pierce  found  his  copy  at  his  lodgings,  in  the  pocket 
of  a  coat  which  he  had  changed  that  morning.  No  person 
ever  ventured  to  claim  the  anonymous  paper. 

We  forbear  to  go  into  the  voluminous  proceedings  of  this 
memorable  convention,  which  occupied  from  four  to  seven 
hours  each  day  for  four  months;  and  in  which  every  point 
was  the  subject  of  able  and  scrupulous  discussion  by  the 
best  talent  and  noblest  spirits  of  the  country.  W  ashington 
felt  restrained  by  his  situation  as  president  from  taking  a 
part  in  the  debates,  but  his  well-known  opinions  influenced 
the  whole.  The  result  was  the  formation  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  which  (with  some  amendments  made 
in  after  years)  still  exists. 

As  the  members  on  the  last  day  of  the  session  were  sign¬ 
ing  the  engrossed  constitution,  Dr.  Franklin,  looking  toward 
the  President’s  chair,  at  the  back  of  which  a  sun  was  painted, 
observed  to  those  persons  next  to  him,  “I  have  often  and 
often,  in  the  course  of  the  session,  and  the  vicissitudes  of  my 


100 


U/orl^s  of  U/as^ip^top  Iruii?$ 


hopes  and  fears  as  to  its  issue,  looked  at  that  sun  behind  the 
President,  without  being  able  to  tell  whether  it  was  rising 
or  setting;  at  length  I  have  the  happiness  to  know  it  is  a 
rising  and  not  a  setting  sun.”  * 

“The  business  being  closed,”  says  Washington  in  his 
diary  (Sept.  17),  “the  members  adjourned  to  the  city  tavern, 
dined  together,  and  took  a  cordial  leave  of  each  other.  After 
which  I  returned  to  my  lodgings,  did  some  business  with, 
and  received  the  papers  from,  the  secretary  of  the  conven¬ 
tion,  and  retired  to  meditate  on  the  momentous  work  which 
had  been  executed.” 

“It  appears  to  me  little  short  of  a  miracle,”  writes  he 
to  Lafayette,  “that  the  delegates  from  so  many  States, 
different  from  each  other,  as  you  know,  in  their  manners, 
circumstances  and  prejudices,  should  unite  in  forming  a 
system  of  national  government  so  little  liable  to  well-founded 
objections.  Nor  am  I  such  an  enthusiastic,  partial,  or  un- 
discriminating  admirer  of  it  as  not  to  perceive  it  is  tinctured 
with  some  real,  though  not  radical  defects.  With  regard 
to  the  two  great  points,  the  pivots  upon  which  the  whole 
machine  must  move,  my  creed  is  simply:  First,  that  the  gen¬ 
eral  government  is  not  invested  with  more  powers  than  are 
indispensably  necessary  to  perform  the  functions  of  a  good 
government;  and,  consequently,  that  no  objection  ought  to 
be  made  against  the  quantity  of  power  delegated  to  it. 

“Secondly,  that  these  powers,  as  the  appointment  of  all 
rulers  will  forever  arise  from,  and  at  short,  stated  intervals 
recur  to,  the  free  suffrages  of  the  people,  are  so  distributed 
among  the  legislative,  executive  and  judicial  branches  into 
which  the  general  government  is  arranged  that  it  can  never 


*  The  Madison  Papers,  iii.  1624. 


Cife  of  U/a8f?ri}<$tor) 


101 


be  in  danger  of  degenerating  into  a  monarchy,  an  oligarchy, 
an  aristocracy,  or  any  other  despotic  or  oppressive  form,  so 
long  as  there  shall  remain  any  virtue  in  the  body  of  the 
people. 

“It  will  at  least  be  a  recommendation  to  the  proposed 
constitution  that  it  is  provided  with  more  checks  and  bar¬ 
riers  against  the  introduction  of  tyranny,  and  those  of  a 
nature  less  liable  to  be  surmounted,  than  any  government 
hitherto  instituted  among  mortals. 

“We  are  not  to  expect  perfection  in  this  world;  but  man¬ 
kind,  in  modern  times,  have  apparently  made  some  progress 
in  the  science  of  government.  Should  that  which  is  now 
offered  to  the  people  of  America  be  found,  on  experiment, 
less  perfect  than  it  can  be  made,  a  constitutional  door  is  left 
open  to  its  amelioration.” 

The  constitution  thus  formed  was  forwarded  to  Congress, 
and  thence  transmitted  to  the  State  Legislatures,  each  of 
which  submitted  it  to  a  State  convention  composed  of  dele¬ 
gates  chosen  for  that  express  purpose  by  the  people.  The 
ratification  of  the  instrument  by  nine  States  was  necessary 
to  carry  it  into  effect ;  and  as  the  several  State  conventions 
would  assemble  at  different  times,  nearly  a  year  must  elapse 
before  the  decisions  of  the  requisite  number  could  be  obtained. 

During  this  time  Washington  resumed  his  retired  life  at 
Mount  Yernon,  seldom  riding,  as  he  says,  beyond  the  limits 
of  his  own  farm,  but  kept  informed  by  his  numerous  corre¬ 
spondents,  such  as  James  Madison,  John  Jay,  and  Generals 
Knox,  Lincoln  and  Armstrong,  of  the  progress  of  the  consti- 

t 

tution  through  its  various  ordeals,  and  of  the  strenuous  oppo¬ 
sition  which  it  met  with  in  different  quarters,  both  in  debate 
and  through  the  press.  A  diversity  of  opinions  and  inclina¬ 
tions  on  the  subject  had  been  expected  by  him.  “The  vari- 


102 


ll/ori^s  of  U/as^iQ^torj  Iruir><$ 


ous  passions  and  motives  by  which  men  are  influenced,  ”  said 
he,  “are  concomitants  of  fallibility,  and  ingrafted  into  our 
nature.  ’ ;  Still  he  never  had  a  doubt  that  it  would  ultimately 
be  adopted;  and,  in  fact,  the  national  decision  in  its  favor 
was  more  fully  and  strongly  pronounced  than  even  he  had 
anticipated. 

His  feelings  on  learning  the  result  were  expressed  with 
that  solemn  and  religious  faith  in  the  protection  of  Heaven 
manifested  by  him  in  all  the  trials  and  vicissitudes  through 
which  his  country  had  passed.  “We  may,”  said  he,  “with 
a  kind  of  pious  and  grateful  exultation,  trace  the  finger  of 
Providence  through  those  dark  and  mysterious  events  which 
first  induced  the  States  to  appoint  a  general  convention,  and 
then  led  them,  one  after  another,  by  such  steps  as  were  best 
calculated  to  effect  the  object,  into  an  adoption  of  the  system 
recommended  by  the  general  convention;  thereby,  in  all 
humar^  probability,  laying  a  lasting  foundation  for  tran¬ 
quillity  and  happiness,  when  we  had  but  too  much  reason 
to  fear  that  confusion  and  misery  were  coming  rapidly  upon 
us. ”  * 

The  testimonials  of  ratification  having  been  received  by 
Congress  from  a  sufficient  number  of  States,  an  act  was 
passed  by  that  body  on  the  13th  of  September,  appointing 
the  first  Wednesday  in  January,  1789,  for  the  people  of  the 
United  States  to  choose  electors  of  a  President  according 
to  the  Constitution,  and  the  first  Wednesday  in  the  month 
©f  February  following  for  the  electors  to  meet  and  make  a 
choice.  The  meeting  of  the  government  was  to  be  on  the 
first  Wednesday  in  March,  and  in  the  city  of  New  York. 


*  Letter  to  Jonathan  Trumbull,  20th  July,  1788. 


Cife  of  U/asfyii^toi) 


103 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-SEVEN 

Washington  talked  of  for  the  Presidency — His  Letters  on  the 
Subject  expressing  his  Reluctance — His  Election — His  Prog¬ 
ress  to  the  Seat  of  Government — His  Reception  at  New  York — 
The  Inauguration 

The  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution  was  another 
epoch  in  the  life  of  Washington.  Before  the  official  forms 
of  an  election  could  be  carried  into  operation,  a  unanimous 
sentiment  throughout  the  Union  pronounced  him  the  nation’s 
choice  to  fill  the  presidential  chair.  He  looked  forward  to 
the  possibility  of  his  election  with  characteristic  modesty 
and  unfeigned  reluctance,  as  his  letters  to  his  confidential 
friends  bear  witness.  “It  has  no  fascinating  allurements 
for  me,”  writes  he  to  Lafayette.  “At  my  time  of  life  and 
under  my  circumstances,  the  increasing  infirmities  of  nature 
and  the  growing  love  of  retirement  do  not  permit  me  to 
entertain  a  wish  beyond  living  and  dying  an  honest  man 
on  my  own  farm.  Let  those  follow  the  pursuits  of  ambition 
and  fame  who  have  a  keener  relish  for  them,  or  who  may 
have  more  years  in  store  for  the  enjoyment.” 

Colonel  Henry  Lee  had  written  to  him  warmly  and  elo¬ 
quently  on  the  subject.  “My  anxiety  is  extreme  that  the 
new  government  may  have  an  auspicious  beginning.  To 
effect  this  and  to  perpetuate  a  nation  formed  under  your 
auspices,  it  is  certain  that  again  you  will  be  called  forth. 
The  same  principles  of  devotion  to  the  good  of  mankind 


104  ' 


U/orKs  of  U/a8bir}<$top  Iruir)^ 


which  have  invariably  governed  your  conduct  will  no  doubt 
continue  to  rule  your  mind,  however  opposite  their  conse- 
quences  may  be  to  your  repose  and  happiness.  If  the  same 
success  should  attend  your  efforts  on  this  important  occasion 
which  has  distinguished  you  hitherto,  then  to  be  sure  you 
will  have  spent  a  life  which  Providence  rarely,  if  ever,  gave 
to  the  lot  of  one  man.  It  is  my  belief,  it  is  my  anxious  hope, 
that  this  will  be  the  case.” 

“The  event  to  which  you  allude  may  never  happen,” 
replies  Washington.  “This  consideration  alone  would  super¬ 
sede  the  expediency  of  announcing  any  definitive  and  irrevo¬ 
cable  resolution.  You  are  among  the  small  number  of  those 
who  know  my  invincible  attachment  to  domestic  life,  and 
that  my  sincerest  wish  is  to  continue  in  the  enjoyment  of  it 
solely  until  my  final  hour.  But  the  world  would  be  neither 
so  well  instructed,  nor  so  candidly  disposed  as  to  believe  me 
uninfluenced  by  sinister  motives  in  case  any  circumstance 
should  render  a  deviation  from  the  line  of  conduct  I  had 
prescribed  to  myself  indispensable. 

“Should  my  unfeigned  reluctance  to  accept  the  office  be 
overcome  by  a  deference  for  the  reasons  and  opinions  of  my 
friends,  might  I  not,  after  the  declarations  I  have  made  (and 
Heaven  knows  they  were  made  in  the  sincerity  of  my  heart), 
in  the  judgment  of  the  impartial  world  and  of  posterity, 
be  chargeable  with  levity  and  inconsistency,  if  not  with  rash¬ 
ness  and  ambition?  Nay,  further,  would  there  not  be  some 
apparent  foundation  for  the  two  former  charges?  Now  jus¬ 
tice  to  myself  and  tranquillity  of  conscience  require  that  I 
should  act  a  part,  if  not  above  imputation,  at  least  capable 
of  vindication.  Nor  will  you  conceive  me  to  be  too  solicitous 
for  reputation.  Though  I  prize  as  I  ought  the  good  opinion 
of  my  fellow  citizens,  yet,  if  I  know  myself,  I  would  not 


Cife  of  U/asl7iQ($toi>  105 

seek  popularity  at  the  expense  of  one  social  duty  or  moral 
virtue. 

“While  doing  what  my  conscience  informed  me  was  right 
as  it  respected  my  God,  my  country  and  myself,  I  should 
despise  all  the  party  clamor  and  unjust  censure  which  must 
he  expected  from  some  whose  personal  enmity  might  be  oc¬ 
casioned  by  their  hostility  to  the  government.  I  am  con¬ 
scious  that  I  fear  alone  to  give  any  real  occasion  for  obloquy, 
and  that  I  do  not  dread  to  meet  with  unmerited  reproach. 
And  certain  I  am,  whensoever  I  shall  be  convinced  the  good 
of  my  country  requires  my  reputation  to  be  put  in  risk,  re- 

t 

gard  for  my  own  fame  will  not  come  in  competition  with  an 
object  of  so  much  magnitude. 

“If  I  declined  the  task,  it  would  lie  upon  quite  another 
principle.  Notwithstanding  my  advanced  season  of  life,  my 
increasing  fondness  for  agricultural  amusements,  and  my 
growing  love  of  retirement,  augment  and  confirm  my  de¬ 
cided  predilection  for  the  character  of  a  private  citizen,  yet  it 
would  be  no  one  of  these  motives,  nor  the  hazard  to  which 
my  former  reputation  might  be  exposed,  nor  the  terror  of 
encountering  new  fatigues  and  troubles,  that  would  deter 
me  from  an  acceptance ;  but  a  belief  that  some  other  person, 
who  had  less  pretense  and  less  inclination  to  be  excused, 
could  execute  all  the  duties  full  as  satisfactorily  as  myself.” 

In  a  letter  to  Colonel  Alexander  Hamilton  he  writes :  “In 
taking  a  survey  of  the  subject,  in  whatever  point  of  light  I 
have  been  able  to  place  it,  I  have  always  felt  a  kind  of  gloom 
upon  my  mind,  as  often  as  I  have  been  taught  to  expect  I 
might,  and  perhaps  must  ere  long,  be  called  upon  to  make  a 
decision.  You  will,  I  am  well  assured,  believe  the  assertion, 
though  I  have  little  expectation  it  would  gain  credit  from 
those  who  are  less  acquainted  with  me,  that,  if  I  should 


106 


U/orks  of  U/ag^fi><$tor>  Iruii?$ 


receive  tlie  appointment,  and  if  I  should  be  prevailed 
upon  to  accept  it,  the  acceptance  would  be  attended  with 
more  diffidence  and  reluctance  than  ever  I  experienced 
before  in  my  life.  It  would  be,  however,  with  a  fixed  and 
sole  determination  of  lending  whatever  assistance  might  be 
in  my  power  to  promote  the  public  weal,  in  hopes  that,  at  a 
convenient  and  early  period,  my  services  might  be  dispensed 
with,  and  that  I  might  be  permitted  once  more  to  retire,  to 
pass  an  unclouded  evening,  after  the  stormy  day  of  life,  in 
the  bosom  of  domestic  tranquillity.” 

To  Lafayette  he  declares  that  his  difficulties  increase  and 
multiply  as  he  draws  toward  the  period  when,  according  to 
common  belief,  it  will  be  necessary  for  him  to  give  a  defini¬ 
tive  answer  as  to  the  office  in  question. 

“Should  circumstances  render  it  in  a  manner  inevitably 
necessary  to  be  in  the  affirmative,”  writes  he,  “I  shall  as¬ 
sume  the  task  with  the  most  unfeigned  reluctance  and  with 
a  real  diffidence,  for  which  I  shall  probably  receive  no  credit 
from  the  world.  If  I  know  my  own  heart,  nothing  short  of 
a  conviction  of  duty  will  induce  me  again  to  take  an  active 
part  in  public  affairs;  and,  in  that  case,  if  I  can  form  a  plan 
for  my  own  conduct,  my  endeavors  shall  be  unremittingly 
exerted,  even  at  the  hazard  of  former  fame  or  present  popu¬ 
larity,  to  extricate  my  country  from  the  embarrassments  in 
which  it  is  entangled  through  want  of  credit;  and  to  estab¬ 
lish  a  general  system  of  policy  which  if  pursued  will  insure 
permanent  felicity  to  the  commonwealth.  I  think  I  see  a 
path,  clear  and  direct  as  a  ray  of  light,  which  leads  to  the 
attainment  of  that  object.  Nothing  but  harmony,  honesty, 
industry  and  frugality  are  necessary  to  make  us  a  great  and 
happy  people.  Happily  the  present  posture  of  affairs,  and 
the  prevailing  disposition  of  my  countrymen,  promise  to  co* 


Cife  of  U/asl?ir}<$t:or?  107 

operate  in  establishing  those  four  great  and  essential  pillars 
of  public  felicity.” 

The  election  took  place  at  the  appointed  time,  and  it  was 
soon  ascertained  that  Washington  was  chosen  President  for 
the  term  of  four  years  from  the  4th  of  March.  By  this  time 
the  arguments  and  entreaties  of  his  friends  and  his  own  con¬ 
victions  of  public  expediency  had  determined  him  to  accept ; 
and  he  made  preparations  to  depart  for  the  seat  of  govern¬ 
ment  as  soon  as  he  should  receive  official  notice  of  his  elec¬ 
tion.  Among  other  duties  he  paid  a  visit  to  his  mother  at 
Fredericksburg;  it  was  a  painful  because  likely  to  be  a  final 
one,  for  she  was  afflicted  with  a  malady  which  it  was  evi¬ 
dent  must  soon  terminate  her  life.  Their  parting  was  affec¬ 
tionate  but  solemn ;  she  had  always  been  reserved  and  mod¬ 
erate  in  expressing  herself  in  regard  to  the  successes  of  her 
son ;  but  it  must  have  been  a  serene  satisfaction  at  the  close 
of  her  life  to  see  him  elevated  by  his  virtues  to  the  highest 
honor  of  his  country. 

From  a  delay  in  forming  a  quorum  of  Congress  the  votes 
of  the  electoral  college  were  not  counted  until  early  in  April, 
when  they  were  found  to  be  unanimous  in  favor  of  Wash¬ 
ington.  “The  delay,”  said  he  in  a  letter  to  General  Knox, 
“may  be  compared  to  a  reprieve;  for  in  confidence  I  tell  you 
(with  the  world  it  would  obtain  little  credit)  that  my  move¬ 
ments  to  the  chair  of  government  will  be  accompanied  by 
feelings  not  unlike  those  of  a  culprit  who  is  going  to  the 
place  of  his  execution ;  so  unwilling  am  I,  in  the  evening  of 
a  life  nearly  consumed  with  public  cares,  to  quit  a  peaceful 
abode  for  an  ocean  of  difficulties,  without  that  competency 
of  political  skill,  abilities  and  inclination  which  are  necessary 
to  manage  the  helm.  I  am  sensible  that  I  am  embarking 
the  voice  of  the  people  and  a  good  name  of  my  own  on  this 


108 


U/or^s  of  \I/asl?ii}<$tor)  Iruir><$ 


voyage;  but  what  returns  will  be  made  for  them  Heaven 
alone  can  foretell.  Integrity  and  firmness  are  all  I  can 
promise.  These,  be  the  voyage  long  or  short,  shall  never 
forsake  me,  although  I  may  be  deserted  by  all  men ;  for  of 
the  consolations  which  are  to  be  derived  from  these,  under 
any  circumstances,  the  world  cannot  deprive  me.” 

At  length,  on  the  14th  of  April,  he  received  a  letter  from 
the  President  of  Congress  duly  notifying  him  of  his  election; 
and  he  prepared  to  set  out  immediately  for  New  York,  the 
seat  of  government.  An  entry  in  his  diary,  dated  the  16th, 
says:  “About  ten  o’clock  I  bade  adieu  to  Mount  Vernon,  to 
private  life  and  to  domestic  felicity;  and  with  a  mind  op¬ 
pressed  with  more  anxious  and  painful  sensations  than  I 
have  words  to  express,  set  out  for  New  York  with  the  best 
disposition  to  render  service  to  my  country  in  obedience  to 
its  call,  but  with  less  hope  of  answering  its  expectations.” 

At  the  first  stage  of  his  journey  a  trial  of  his  tenderest 
feelings  awaited  him  in  a  public  dinner  given  him  at  Alex¬ 
andria,  by  his  neighbors  and  personal  friends,  among  whom 
he  had  lived  in  the  constant  interchange  of  kind  offices,  and 
who  were  so  aware  of  the  practical  beneficence  of  his  private 
character.  A  deep  feeling  of  regret  mingled  with  their  fes¬ 
tivity.  The  mayor,  who  presided,  and  spoke  the  sentiments 
of  the  people  of  Alexandria,  deplored  in  his  departure  the 
loss  of  the  first  and  best  of  their  citizens,  the  ornament  of 
the  aged,  the  model  of  the  young,  the  improver  of  their  agri¬ 
culture,  the  friend  of  their  commerce,  the  protector  of  their 
infant  academy,  the  benefactor  of  their  poor — but  “go,” 
added  he,  “and  make  a  grateful  people  happy,  who  will  be 
doubly  grateful  when  they  contemplate  this  new  sacrifice  for 
their  interests.” 

Washington  was  too  deeply  affected  for  many  words  in 


Cife  of  U/as^iQ^tor> 


109 


reply.  “Just  after  having  bade  adieu  to  my  domestic  con¬ 
nections,”  said  he,  “this  tender  proof  of  your  friendship  is 
but  too  well  calculated  to  awaken  still  further  my  sensibil¬ 
ity,  and  increase  my  regret  at  parting  from  the  enjoyments 
of  private  life.  All  that  now  remains  for  me  is  to  commit 
myself  and  you  to  the  care  of  that  beneficent  Being  who,  on 
a  former  occasion,  happily  brought  us  together  after  a  long 
and  distressing  separation.  Perhaps  the  same  gracious 
Providence  will  again  indulge  me.  But  words  fail  me. 
Unutterable  sensations  must,  then,  be  left  to  more  expres¬ 
sive  silence,  while  from  an  aching  heart  I  bid  all  my  affec¬ 
tionate  friends  and  kind  neighbors  farewell!” 

His  progress  to  the  seat  of  government  was  a  continual 
ovation.  The  ringing  of  bells  and  roaring  of  cannonry  pro¬ 
claimed  his  course  through  the  country.  The  old  and  young, 
women  and  children,  thronged  the  highways  to  bless  and 
welcome  him.  Deputations  of  the  most  respectable  inhabi¬ 
tants  from  the  principal  places  came  forth  to  meet  and  escort 
him.  At  Baltimore,  on  his  arrival  and  departure,  his  car¬ 
riage  was  attended  by-a  numerous  cavalcade  of  citizens,  and 
he  was  saluted  by  the  thunder  of  artillery. 

At  the  frontier  of  Pennsylvania  he  was  met  by  his  for¬ 
mer  companion  in  arms,  Mifflin,  now  governor  of  the  State, 
who,  with  Judge  Peters  and  a  civil  and  military  escort,  was 
waiting  to  receive  him.  Washington  had  hoped  to  be  spared 
all  military  parade,  but  found  it  was  not  to  be  evaded.  At 
Chester,  where  he  stopped  to  breakfast,  there  were  prepara¬ 
tions  for  a  public  entry  into  Philadelphia.  Cavalry  had  as¬ 
sembled  from  the  surrounding  country ;  a  superb  white  horse 
was  led  out  for  Washington  to  mount,  and  a  grand  proces¬ 
sion  set  forward,  with  General  St.  Clair  of  revolutionary 
notoriety  at  its  head.  It  gathered  numbers  as  it  advanced; 


110 


U/or^s  of  U/asl?ir)$tOQ  Iruii)$ 


passed  under  triumphal  arches  entwined  with  laurel,  and 
entered  Philadelphia  amid  the  shouts  of  the  multitude. 

A  day  of  public  festivity  succeeded,  ended  by  a  display 
of  fireworks.  Washington’s  reply  to  the  congratulations  of 
the  mayor  at  a  great  civic  banquet  spoke  the  genuine  feel¬ 
ings  of  his  modest  nature,  amid  these  testimonials  of  a 
world’s  applause.  “When  I  contemplate  the  interposition 
of  Providence,  as  it  was  visibly  manifested  in  guiding  us 
through  the  Revolution,  in  preparing  us  for  the  reception  of 
the  general  government,  and  in  conciliating  the  good  will  of 
the  people  of  America  toward  one  another  after  its  adoption, 
I  feel  myself  oppressed  and  almost  overwhelmed  with  a  sense 
of  divine  munificence.  I  feel  that  nothing  is  due  to  my  per¬ 
sonal  agency  in  all  those  wonderful  and  complicated  events, 
except  what  can  be  attributed  to  an  honest  zeal  for  the  good 
of  my  country.” 

We  question  whether  any  of  these  testimonials  of  a  na¬ 
tion’s  gratitude  affected  Washington  more  sensibly  than 
those  he  received  at  Trenton.  It  was  on  a  sunny  afternoon 
when  he  arrived  on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware,  where,  twelve 
years  before,  he  had  crossed  in  darkness  and  storm,  through 
clouds  of  snow  and  drifts  of  floating  ice,  on  his  daring  at¬ 
tempt  to  strike  a  blow  at  a  triumphant  enemy. 

Here  at  present  all  was  peace  and  sunshine,  the  broad 
river  flowed  placidly  along,  and  crowds  awaited  him  on  the 
Opposite  bank,  to  hail  him  with  love  and  transport. 

We  will  not  dwell  on  the  joyous  ceremonials  with  which 
he  was  welcomed,  but  there  was  one  too  peculiar  to  be 
omitted.  The  reader  may  remember  Washington’s  gloomy 
night  on  the  banks  of  the  Assunpink,  which  flows  through 
Trenton ;  the  camp  fires  of  Cornwallis  in  front  of  him ;  the 
Delaware  full  of  floating  ice  in  the  rear;  and  his  sudden  re- 


Cife  of  U/a8l?ir}<$tor} 


111 


solve  on  that  midnight  retreat  which  turned  the  fortunes  of 
the  campaign.  On  the  bridge  crossing  that  eventful  stream 
the  ladies  of  Trenton  had  caused  a  triumphal  arch  to  be 
erected.  It  was  entwined  with  evergreens  and  laurels,  and 
bore  the  inscription,  “The  defender  of  the  mothers  will  be 
the  protector  of  the  daughters.”  At  this  bridge  the  matrons 
of  the  city  were  assembled  to  pay  him  reverence ;  and  as  he 
passed  under  the  arch  a  number  of  young  girls,  dressed  in 
white  and  crowned  with  garlands,  strewed  flowers  before 
him,  singing  an  ode  expressive  of  their  love  and  gratitude. 
Never  was  ovation  more  graceful,  touching  and  sincere ;  and 
Washington,  tenderly  affected,  declared  that  the  impression 
of  it  on  his  heart  could  never  be  effaced. 

His  whole  progress  through  New  Jersey  must  have  af¬ 
forded  a  similar  contrast  to  his  weary  marchings  to  and  fro, 
harassed  by  doubts  and  perplexities,  with  bale  fires  blazing 
on  its  hills  instead  of  festive  illuminations,  and  when  the 
ringing  of  bells  and  booming  of  cannon,  now  so  joyous,  were 
the  signals  of  invasion  and  maraud.  In  respect  to  his  recep¬ 
tion  in  New  York  Washington  had  signified,  in  a  letter  to 
Governor  Clinton,  that  none  could  be  so  congenial  to  his 
feelings  as  a  quiet  entry  devoid  of  ceremony;  but  his  modest 
wishes  were  not  complied  with.  At  Elizabethtown  Point  a 
committee  of  both  Houses  of  Congress,  with  various  civic 
functionaries,  waited  by  appointment  to  receive  him.  He 
embarked  on  board  of  a  splendid  barge  constructed  for  the 
occasion.  It  was  manned  by  thirteen  branch  pilots,  masters 
of  vessels,  in  white  uniforms,  and  commanded  by  Commo¬ 
dore  Nicholson.  Other  barges,  fancifully  decorated,  fol¬ 
lowed,  having  on  board  the  heads  of  departments  and 
other  public  officers,  and  several  distinguished  citizens. 
As  they  passed  through  the  strait  between  the  Jerseys 


112 


U/or^s  of  U/a6fyii)<$toi7  Iruip<$ 


and  Staten  Island,  called  the  Kills,  other  boats  decorated 
with  flags  fell  in  their  wake,  until  the  whole,  forming  a 
nautical  procession,  swept  up  the  broad  and  beautiful  bay  of 
New  York  to  the  sound  of  instrumental  music.  On  board 
of  two  vessels  were  parties  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  who  sang 
congratulatory  odes  as  Washington’s  barge  approached. 
The  ships  at  anchor  in  the  harbor,  dressed  in  colors,  fired 
salutes  as  it  passed.  One  alone,  the  “Galveston,”  a  Span¬ 
ish  man-of-war,  displayed  no  signs  of  gratulation  until  the 
barge  of  the  general  was  nearly  abreast ;  when  suddenly,  as 
if  by  magic,  the  yards  were  manned,  the  ship  burst  forth, 
as  it  were,  into  a  full  array  of  flags  and  signals,  and  thun¬ 
dered  a  salute  of  thirteen  guns. 

He  approached  the  landing  place  of  Murray’s  Wharf 
amid  the  ringing  of  bells,  the  roaring  of  cannonry  and  the 
shouting  of  multitudes  collected  on  every  pier-head.  On 
landing  he  was  received  by  Governor  Clinton.  General 
Knox,  too,  who  had  taken  such  an  affectionate  leave  of 
him  on  his  retirement  from  military  life,  was  there  to  wel¬ 
come  him  in  his  civil  capacity.  Other  of  his  fellow-soldiers 
of  the  Revolution  were  likewise  there,  mingled  with  the  civic 
dignitaries.  At  this  juncture  an  officer  stepped  up  and  re¬ 
quested  Washington’s  orders,  announcing  himself  as  com¬ 
manding  his  guard.  Washington  desired  him  to  proceed 
according  to  the  directions  he  might  have  received  in  the 
present  arrangements,  but  that  for  the  future  the  affection 
of  his  fellow-citizens  was  all  the  guard  he  wanted. 

Carpets  had  been  spread  to  a  carriage  prepared  to  convey 
him  to  his  destined  residence,  but  he  preferred  to  walk.  He 
was  attended  by  a  long  civil  and  military  train.  In  the 
streets  through  which  he  passed  the  houses  were  decorated 
with  flags,  silken  banners,  garlands  of  flowers  and  ever- 


Cife  of  U/asbffi^toi) 


113 


greens,  and  bore  his  name  in  every  form  of  ornament.  The 
streets  were  crowded  with  people,  so  that  it  was  with  diffi¬ 
culty  a  passage  could  be  made  by  the  city  officers.  Wash¬ 
ington  frequently  bowed  to  the  multitude  as  he  passed,  tak¬ 
ing  off  his  hat  to  the  ladies,  who  thronged  every  window, 
waving  their  handkerchiefs,  throwing  flowers  before  him, 
and  many  of  them  shedding  tears  of  enthusiasm. 

That  day  he  dined  with  his  old  friend,  Governor  Clinton,' 
who  had  invited  a  numerous  company  of  public  functionaries 
and  foreign  diplomatists  to  meet  him,  and  in  the  evening  the 
city  was  brilliantly  illuminated. 

Would  the  reader  know  the  effect  upon  Washington’s 
mind  at  this  triumphant  entry  into  New  York?  It  was  to 
depress  rather  than  to  excite  him.  Modestly  diffident  of  his 
abilities  to  cope  with  the  new  duties  on  which  he  was  enter¬ 
ing,  he  was  overwhelmed  by  what  he  regarded  as  proofs  of 
public  expectation.  Noting  in  his  diary  the  events  of  the 
day,  he  writes :  “The  display  of  boats  which  attended  and 
joined  us  on  this  occasion,  some  with  vocal  and  some  with 
instrumental  music  on  board;  the  decorations  of  the  ships, 
the  roar  of  cannon  and  the  loud  acclamations  of  the  people 
which  rent  the  skies,  as  I  passed  along  the  wharfs,  filled 
my  mind  with  sensations  as  painful  (considering  the  reverse 
of  this  scene,  which  may  be  the  case  after  all  my  labors  to 
do  good)  as  they  are  pleasing.” 

The  inauguration  was  delayed  for  several  days,  in  which 
a  question  arose  as  to  the  form  or  title  by  which  the  Presi¬ 
dent-elect  was  to  be  addressed;  and  a  committee  in  both 
Houses  was  appointed  to  report  upon  the  subject.  The 
question  was  started  without  Washington’s  privity  and 
contrary  to  his  desire;  as  he  feared  that  any  title  might 
awaken  the  sensitive  jealousy  of  republicans  at  a  moment 


114 


U/orks  of  U/asl?ii}$tOQ  Iruii}$ 


when  it  was  all-important  to  conciliate  public  good  will  to 
the  new  form  of  government.  It  was  a  relief  to  him,  there¬ 
fore,  when  it  was  finally  resolved  that  the  address  should  be 
simply,  “the  President  of  the  United  States,’ ’  without  any 
addition  of  title;  a  judicious  form  which  has  remained  to  the 
present  day. 

The  inauguration  took  place  on  the  30th  of  April.  At 
nine  o’clock  in  the  morning  there  were  religious  services 
in  all  the  churches,  and  prayers  put  up  for  the  blessing  of 
Heaven  on  the  new  government.  At  twelve  o’clock  the  city 
troops  paraded  before  Washington’s  door,  and  soon  after  the 
committees  of  Congress  and  the  heads  of  departments  came 
in  their  carriages.  At  half-past  twelve  the  procession  moved 
forward,  preceded  by  the  troops;  next  came  the  committees 
and  heads  of  departments  in  their  carriages;  then  Washing¬ 
ton  in  a  coach  of  state,  his  aid-de-camp,  Colonel  Humphreys, 
and  his  secretary,  Mr.  Lear,  in  his  own  carriage.  The  for¬ 
eign  ministers  and  a  long  train  of  citizens  brought  up  the 
rear. 

About  two  hundred  yards  before  reaching  the  hall  Wash¬ 
ington  and  his  suite  alighted  from  their  carriages  and  passed 
through  the  troops,  who  were  drawn  up  on  each  side,  into 
the  hall  and  senate  chamber,  where  the  Vice-President,  the 
Senate,  and  House  of  Representatives  were  assembled.  The 
Vice-President,  John  Adams,  recently  inaugurated,  advanced 
and  conducted  Washington  to  a  chair  of  state  at  the  upper 
end  of  the  room.  A  solemn  silence  prevailed;  when  the 
Vice-President  rose  and  informed  him  that  all  things  were 
prepared  for  him  to  take  the  oath  of  office  required  by  the 
constitution. 

The  oath  was  to  be  administered  by  the  Chancellor  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  in  a  balcony  in  front  of  the  Senate  cham- 


Cife  of  U/asfyiQ^toi} 


115 


ber,  and  in  full  view  of  an  immense  multitude  occupying  the 
street,  the  windows  and  even  roofs  of  the  adjacent  houses. 
The  balcony  formed  a  kind  of  open  recess,  with  lofty  col¬ 
umns  supporting  the  roof.  In  the  center  was  a  table  with 
a  covering  of  crimson  velvet,  upon  which  lay  a  superbly 
bound  Bible  on  a  crimson  velvet  cushion.  This  was  all  the 
paraphernalia  for  the  august  scene. 

All  eyes  were  fixed  upon  the  balcony,  when,  at  the 
appointed  hour,  Washington  made  his  appearance,  accom¬ 
panied  by  various  public  functionaries  and  members  of  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 

He  was  clad  in  a  full  suit  of  dark-brown  cloth,  of  Ameri¬ 
can  manufacture,  with  a  steel-hilted  dress  sword,  white  silk 
stockings  and  silver  shoe-buckles.  His  hair  was  dressed  and 
powdered  in  the  fashion  of  the  day,  and  worn  in  a  bag  and 
solitaire. 

His  entrance  on  the  balcony  was  hailed  by  universal 
shouts.  He  was  evidently  moved  by  this  demonstration 
of  public  affection.  Advancing  to  the  front  of  the  bal¬ 
cony,  he  laid  his  hand  upon  his  heart,  bowed  several  times, 
and  then  retreated  to  an  armchair  near  the  table.  The  popu¬ 
lace  appeared  to  understand  that  the  scene  had  overcome 
him,  and  were  hushed  at  once  into  a  profound  silence. 

After  a  few  moments  Washington  rose  and  again  came 
forward.  John  Adams,  the  Vice-President,  stood  on  his 
right;  on  his  left  the  Chancellor  of  the  State,  Robert  R. 
Livingston;  somewhat  in  the  rear  were  Roger  Sherman, 
Alexander  Hamilton,  Generals  Knox,  St.  Clair,  the  Baron 
Steuben  and  others. 

The  chancellor  advanced  to  administer  the  oath  pre¬ 
scribed  by  the  constitution*  and  Mr.  Otis%  the  secretary 
of  the  Senate,  held  up  the  Bible  on  its  crimson  cushion. 


116 


U/or^8  of  U/asbffi<$tor)  Iruffi$ 


The  oath  was  read  slowly  and  distinctly;  Washington  at 
the  same  time  laying  his  hand  on  the  open  Bible.  When 
it  was  concluded  he  replied,  solemnly,  “I  swear — so  help  me 
God!”  Mr.  Otis  would  have  raised  the  Bible  to  his  lips,  but 
he  bowed  down  reverently  and  kissed  it. 

The  chancellor  now  stepped  forward,  waved  his  hand  and 
exclaimed,  “Long  live  George  Washington,  President  of  the 
United  States!”  At  this  moment  a  flag  was  displayed  on 
the  cupola  of  the  hall ;  on  which  signal  there  was  a  general 
discharge  of  artillery  on  the  battery.  All  the  bells  in  the 
city  rang  out  a  joyful  peal,  and  the  multitude  rent  the  air 
with  acclamations. 

Washington  again  bowed  to  the  people  and  returned  into 
the  Senate  chamber,  where  he  delivered,  to  both  Houses  of 
Congress,  his  inaugural  address,  characterized  by  his  usual 
modesty,  moderation  and  good  sense,  but  uttered  with  a 
voice  deep,  slightly  tremulous,  and  so  low  as  to  demand 
close  attention  in  the  listeners.  After  this  he  proceeded  with 
the  whole  assemblage  on  foot  to  St.  Paul’s  Church,  where 
prayers  suited  to  the  occasion  were  read  by  Dr.  Prevost, 
Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  New  York, 
who  had  been  appointed  by  the  Senate  one  of  the  chaplains 
of  Congress.  So  closed  the  ceremonies  of  the  inauguration. 

The  whole  day  was  one  of  sincere  rejoicing,  and  in  the 
evening  there  were  brilliant  illuminations  and  fireworks. 

We  have  been  accustomed  to  look  to  AVashington’s  pri¬ 
vate  letters  for  the  sentiments  of  his  heart.  Those  written 
to  several  of  his  friends  immediately  after  his  inauguration 
show  how  little  he  was  excited  by  his  official  elevation.  “I 
greatly  fear,”  writes  he,  “that  my  countrymen  will  expect 
too  much  of  me.  I  fear,  if  the  issue  of  public  measures 
should  not  correspond  with  their  sanguine  expectations,  they 


Cife  of  U/asl?iQ<$tor? 


117 


will  turn  the  extravagant,  and  I  might  almost  say  undue, 
praises  which  they  are  heaping  upon  me  at  this  moment  into 
equally  extravagant,  though  I  will  fondly  hope  unmerited, 
censures.  ’  ’ 

Little  was  his  modest  spirit  aware  that  the  praises  so  du¬ 
biously  received  were  but  the  opening  notes  of  a  theme  that 
was  to  increase  from  age  to  age,  to  pervade  all  lands  and 
endure  throughout  all  generations. 


In  the  parts  here  concluded  we  have  endeavored  to  nar¬ 
rate  faithfully  the  career  of  Washington  from  childhood, 
through  his  early  surveying  expeditions  in  the  wilderness, 
his  diplomatic  mission  to  the  French  posts  on  the  frontier, 
his  campaigns  in  the  French  war,  his  arduous  trials  as  com¬ 
mander-in-chief  throughout  the  Revolution,  the  noble  sim¬ 
plicity  of  his  life  in  retirement,  until  we  have  shown  him 
elevated  to  the  Presidential  chair,  by  no  effort  of  his  own, 
in  a  manner  against  his  wishes,  by  the  unanimous  vote  of 
a  grateful  country. 

The  plan  of  our  work  has  necessarily  carried  us  widely 
into  the  campaigns  of  the  Revolution,  even  where  Washing¬ 
ton  was  not  present  in  person ;  for  his  spirit  pervaded  and 
directed  the  whole,  and  a  general  knowledge  of  the  whole  is 
necessary  to  appreciate  the  sagacity,  forecast,  enduring  for¬ 
titude  and  comprehensive  wisdom  with  which  he  conducted 
it.  He  himself  has  signified  to  one  who  aspired  to  write  his 
biography  that  any  memoirs  of  his  life  distinct  and  uncon¬ 
nected  with  the  history  of  the  war  would  be  unsatisfactory. 
In  treating  of  the  Revolution,  we  have  endeavored  to  do  jus¬ 
tice  to  what  we  consider  its  most  striking  characteristic ;  the 
greatness  of  the  object  and  the  scantiness  of  the  means.  We 


118 


U/orl^g  of  U/asbir^top  Iruip$ 


have  endeavored  to  keep  in  view  the  prevailing  poverty  of 
resources,  the  scandalous  neglects,  the  squalid  miseries  of  all 
kinds  with  which  its  champions  had  to  contend  in  their  ex¬ 
peditions  through  trackless  wildernesses  or  thinly  peopled 
regions;  beneath  scorching  suns  or  inclement  skies;  their 
wintry  marches  to  be  traced  by  bloody  footprints  on  snow 
and  ice;  their  desolate  wintry  encampments,  rendered  still 
more  desolate  by  nakedness  and  famine.  It  was  in  the 
patience  and  fortitude  with  which  these  ills  were  sustained 
by  a  half-disciplined  yeomanry,  voluntary  exiles  from  their 
homes,  destitute  of  all  the  * 4  pomp  and  circumstance”  of 
war  to  excite  them,  and  animated  solely  by  their  patriot* 
ism,  that  we  read  the  noblest  and  most  affecting  character¬ 
istics  of  that  great  struggle  for  human  rights.  They  do 
wrong  to  its  moral  grandeur  who  seek  by  commonplace  ex¬ 
aggeration  to  give  a  melodramatic  effect  and  false  glare  to 
its  military  operations,  and  to  place  its  greatest  triumphs  in 
the  conflicts  of  the  field.  Lafayette  showed  a  true  sense  of 
the  nature  of  the  struggle  w^hen  Napoleon,  accustomed  to 
effect  ambitious  purposes  by  hundreds  of  thousands  of  troops, 
and  tens  of  thousands  of  slain,  sneered  at  the  scanty  ar¬ 
mies  of  the  American  Revolution  and  its  “boasted  allies.” 
“Sire,”  was  the  admirable  and  comprehensive  reply,  “it 
was  the  grandest  of  causes  won  by  skirmishes  of  sentinels 
and  outposts.” 

In  regard  to  the  character  and  conduct  of  Washington, 
we  have  endeavored  to  place  his  deeds  in  the  clearest  light, 
and  left  them  to  speak  for  themselves,  generally  avoiding 
comment  or  eulogium.  We  have  quoted  his  own  words  and 
writings  largely,  to  explain  his  feelings  and  motives,  and 
give  the  true  key  to  his  policy ;  for  never  did  a  man  leave 
a  more  truthful  mirror  of  his  heart  and  mind,  and  a  more 


Cife  of  U/ast?ii}<$tor) 


119 


thorough  exponent  of  his  conduct,  than  he  has  left  in  his 
copious  correspondence.  There  his  character  is  to  be  found 
in  all  its  majestic  simplicity,  its  massive  grandeur,  and  quiet, 
colossal  strength.  He  was  no  hero  of  romance;  there  was 
nothing  of  romantic  heroism  in  his  nature.  As  a  warrior  he 
was  incapable  of  fear,  but  made  no  merit  of  defying  danger. 
He  fought  for  a  cause,  but  not  for  personal  renown.  Gladly, 
when  he  had  won  the  cause,  he  hung  up  his  sword  never 
again  to  take  it  down.  Glory,  that  blatant  word,  which 
haunts  some  military  minds  like  the  bray  of  the  trumpet, 
formed  no  part  of  his  aspirations.  To  act  justly  was  his 
instinct,  to  promote  the  public  weal  his  constant  effort,  to 
deserve  the  “affections  of  good  men”  his  ambition.  With 
such  qualifications  for  the  pure  exercise  of  sound  judgment 
and  comprehensive  wisdom,  he  ascended  the  Presidential 
chair. 

There  for  the  present  we  leave  him.  So  far  our  work  is 
complete,  comprehending  the  whole  military  life  of  Wash¬ 
ington,  and  his  agency  in  public  affairs  up  to  the  formation 
of  our  constitution.  How  well  we  have  executed  it  we  leave 
to  the  public  to  determine ;  hoping  to  find  it,  as  heretofore, 
far  more  easily  satisfied  with  the  result  of  our  labors  than 
we  are  ourselves.  Should  the  measure  of  health  and  good 
spirits  with  which  a  kind  Providence  has  blessed  us  beyond 
the  usual  term  of  literary  labor  be  still  continued,  we  may 
go  on,  and,  in  another  volume,  give  the  Presidential  career 
and  closing  life  of  Washington.  In  the  meantime,  having 
found  a  resting-place  in  our  task,  we  stay  our  hands,  lay  by 
our  pen,  and  seek  that  relaxation  and  repose  which  gathering 
years  require.  W.  I, 

Sunnyside,  1857. 


120 


U/orKs  of  U/as^ir7<$top  Iruii)$ 


PART  FIFTH 


PREFACE 

The  present  part  completes  a  work  to  which  the  author 
had  long  looked  forward  as  the  crowning  effort  of  his  literary- 
career. 

The  idea  of  writing  a  life  of  Washington  entered  at  an 
early  day  into  his  mind.  It  was  especially  pressed  upon 
his  attention  nearly  thirty  years  ago  while  he  was  in 
Europe,  by  a  proposition  of  the  late  Mr.  Archibald  Con¬ 
stable,  the  eminent  publisher  of  Edinburgh,  and  he  resolved 
to  undertake  it  as  soon  as  he  should  return  to  the  United 
States,  and  be  within  reach  of  the  necessary  documents. 
Various  circumstances  occurred  to  prevent  him  from  carry¬ 
ing  this  resolution  into  prompt  effect.  It  remained,  how¬ 
ever,  a  cherished  purpose  of  his  heart,  which  he  has  at 
length,  though  somewhat  tardily,  accomplished. 

The  manuscript  for  the  present  volume  was  nearly  ready 
for  the  press  some  months  since,  but  the  author,  by  applying 
himself  too  closely  in  his  eagerness  to  finish  it,  brought  on 
a  nervous  indisposition,  which  unfitted  him  for  a  time  for  the 
irksome  but  indispensable  task  of  revision.  In  this  he  has 
been  kindly  assisted  by  his  nephew,  Pierre  Munro  Irving, 
who  had  pre  viously  aided  him  in  the  course  of  his  necessary 
researches,  and  who  now  carefully  collated  the  manuscript 
with  the  works,  letters,  and  inedited  documents  from  which 
the  facts  had  been  derived.  He  has  likewise  had  the  kind¬ 
ness  to  superintend  the  printing  of  the  volume,  and  the  cor¬ 
rection  of  the  proof  sheets.  Thus  aided,  the  author  is  enabled 
to  lay  the  volume  before  the  public. 


Cife  of  U/a8l?ii7$tor) 


121 


How  far  this,  the  last  labor  of  his  pen,  may  meet  with 
general  acceptation  is  with  him  a  matter  of  hope  rather  than 
of  confidence.  He  is  conscious  of  his  own  shortcomings  and 
of  the  splendid  achievements  of  oratory  of  which  the  char¬ 
acter  of  Washington  has  recently  been  made  the  theme. 
Grateful,  however,  for  the  kindly  disposition  which  has 
greeted  each  successive  volume,  and  with  a  profound  sense 
of  the  indulgence  he  has  experienced  from  the  public  through 
a  long  literary  career,  now  extending  through  more  than  half 
a  century,  he  resigns  his  last  volume  to  its  fate,  with  a  feel¬ 
ing  of  satisfaction  that  he  has  at  length  reached  the  close  of 
his  task,  and  with  the  comforting  assurance  that  it  has  been 
with  him  a  labor  of  love,  and  as  such  to  a  certain  degree 
carried  with  it  its  own  reward. 

Washington  Irving. 


CHAPTER  ONE 


The  New  Government — Domestic  and  Foreign  Relations — Washing¬ 
ton’s  anxious  Position — Its  Difficulties — Without  Cabinet  or 
Constitutional  Advisers — John  Jay — Hamilton — His  efficient 
Support  of  the  Constitution  and  Theoretic  Doubts — James 
Madison — Knox — His  Characteristics 

The  eyes  of  the  world  were  upon  Washington  at  the 
commencement  of  his  administration.  He  had  won  laurels 
in  the  field;  would  they  continue  to  flourish  in  the  cabinet? 
His  position  was  surrounded  by  difficulties.  Inexperienced 
in  the  duties  of  civil  administration,  he  was  to  inaugurate  a 
new  and  untried  system  of  government,  composed  of  States 
and  people,  as  yet  a  mere  experiment,  to  which  some  looked 
forward  with  buoyant  confidence — many  with  doubt  and 
apprehension. 

He  had,  moreover,  a  high-spirited  people  to  manage,  in 

Vol.  XV. — *  *  *6 


122 


U/or^s  of  U/as^ip^toi>  Iruip$ 


whom  a  jealous  passion  for  freedom  and  independence  had 
been  strengthened  by  war,  and  who  might  bear  with  impa¬ 
tience  even  the  restraints  of  self-imposed  government.  The 
constitution  which  he  was  to  inaugurate  had  met  with  ve¬ 
hement  opposition  when  under  discussion  in  the  general  and 
State  governments.  Only  three  States,  New  Jersey,  Dela¬ 
ware  and  Georgia,  had  accepted  it  unanimously.  Several 
of  the  most  important  States  had  adopted  it  by  a  mere  ma¬ 
jority;  five  of  them  under  an  expressed  expectation  of  speci¬ 
fied  amendments  or  modifications;  while  two  States,  Rhode 
Island  and  North  Carolina,  still  stood  aloof. 

It  is  true,  the  irritation  produced  by  the  conflict  of  opin¬ 
ions  in  the  general  and  State  conventions  had,  in  a  great 
measure,  subsided ;  but  circumstances  might  occur  to  inflame 
it  anew.  A  diversity  of  opinions  still  existed  concerning  the 
new  government.  Some  feared  that  it  would  have  too  little 
control  over  the  individual  States;  that  the  political  connec¬ 
tion  would  prove  too  weak  to  preserve  order  and  prevent 
civil  strife ;  others  that  it  would  be  too  strong  for  their  sepa¬ 
rate  independence,  and  would  tend  toward  consolidation  and 
despotism. 

The  very  extent  of  the  country  he  was  called  upon  to 
govern,  ten  times  larger  than  that  of  any  previous  republic, 
must  have  pressed  with  weight  upon  Washington’s  mind. 
It  presented  to  the  Atlantic  a  front  of  fifteen  hundred  miles, 
divided  into  individual  States,  differing  in  the  forms  of  their 
local  governments,  differing  from  each  other  in  interests,  in 
territorial  magnitudes,  in  amount  of  population,  in  manners, 
soils,  climates  and  productions,  and  the  characteristics  of 
their  several  peoples. 

Beyond  the  Alleghanies  extended  regions  almost  bound¬ 
less,  as  yet  for  the  most  part  wild  and  uncultivated,  the 


Cife  of  U/asfyir^tor) 


123 


asylum  of  roving  Indians  and  restless,  discontented  white 
men.  Vast  tracts,  however,  were  rapidly  being  peopled, 
and  would  soon  be  portioned  into  sections  requiring  local 
governments.  The  great  natural  outlet  for  the  exportation 
of  the  products  of  this  region  of  inexhaustible  fertility  was 
the  Mississippi ;  but  Spain  opposed  a  barrier  to  the  free  navi¬ 
gation  of  this  river.  Here  was  peculiar  cause  of  solicitude. 
Before  leaving  Mount  Vernon  Washington  had  heard  that  the 
hardy  yeomanry  of  the  far  West  were  becoming  impatient 
of  this  barrier,  and  indignant  at  the  apparent  indifference 
of  Congress  to  their  prayers  for  its  removal.  He  had  heard, 
moreover,  that  British  emissaries  were  fostering  these  dis¬ 
contents,  sowing  the  seeds  of  disaffection,  and  offering  assist¬ 
ance  to  the  Western  people  to  seize  on  the  city  of  New 
Orleans  and  fortify  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi;  while, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  Spanish  authorities  at  New  Orleans 
were  represented  as  intriguing  to  effect  a  separation  of  the 
Western  territory  from  the  Union,  with  a  view  or  hope  of 
attaching  it  to  the  dominion  of  Spain. 

Great  Britain,  too,  was  giving  grounds  for  territorial 
solicitude  in  these  distant  quarters  by  retaining  possession 
of  the  Western  posts,  the  surrender  of  which  had  been 
stipulated  by  treaty.  Her  plea  was  that  debts  due  to  British 
subjects,  for  which  by  the  same  treaty  the  United  States 
were  bound,  remained  unpaid.  This,  the  Americans  alleged, 
was  a  mere  pretext;  the  real  object  of  their  retention  being 
the  monopoly  of  the  fur  trade ;  and  to  the  mischievous  influ¬ 
ence  exercised  by  these  posts  over  the  Indian  tribes  was 
attributed  much  of  the  hostile  disposition  manifested  by  the 
latter  along  the  Western  frontier. 

While  these  brooding  causes  of  anxiety  existed  at  home 
the  foreign  commerce  of  the  Union  was  on  a  most  unsatis- 


i24  U/or^8  of  U/asbffi^toi)  Iruip<$ 

factory  footing,  and  required  prompt  and  thorough  attention. 
It  was  subject  to  maraud,  even  by  the  corsairs  of  Algiers, 
Tunis  and  Tripoli,  who  captured  American  merchant  vessels 
and  carried  their  crews  into  slavery ;  no  treaty  having  yet 
been  made  with  any  of  the  Barbary  powers  excepting 
Morocco. 

To  complete  the  perplexities  which  beset  the  new  govern¬ 
ment  the  finances  of  the  country  were  in  a  lamentable  state. 
There  was  no  money  in  the  treasury.  The  efforts  of  the 
former  government  to  pay  or  fund  its  debts  had  failed ;  there 
was  a  universal  state  of  indebtedness,  foreign  and  domestic, 
and  public  credit  was  prostrate. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs  when  Washington  en¬ 
tered  upon  his  new  field  of  action.  He  was  painfully  aware 
of  the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  an  undertaking  in  which 
past  history  and  past  experience  afforded  no  precedents.  “I 
walk,  as  it  were,  on  untrodden  ground,”  said  he;  “so  many 
untoward  circumstances  may  intervene  in  such  a  new  and 
critical  situation  that  I  shall  feel  an  insuperable  diffi¬ 
dence  in  my  own  abilities.  1  feel,  in  the  execution  of  my 
arduous  office,  how  much  I  shall  stand  in  need  of  the 
countenance  and  aid  of  every  friend  to  myself,  of  every 
friend  to  the  Revolution,  and  of  every  lover  of  good 
government.”  * 

As  yet  he  was  without  the  support  of  constitutional  ad¬ 
visers,  the  departments  under  the  new  government  not  being 
organized;  he  could  turn  with  confidence,  however,  for 
counsel  in  an  emergency  to  John  Jay,  who  still  remained 
at  the  head  of  affairs,  where  he  had  been  placed  in  1784.  He 
was  sure  of  sympathy  also  in  his  old  comrade,  General  Knox, 


*  Letter  to  Edward  Rutledge. 


Cife  of  U/asI?ir>^toi) 


125 


who  continued  to  officiate  as  Secretary  of  War;  while  the 
affairs  of  the  treasury  were  managed  by  a  board,  consisting 
of  Samuel  Osgood,  Walter  Livingston  and  Arthur  Lee. 
Among  the  personal  friends  not  in  office,  to  whom  Wash¬ 
ington  felt  that  he  could  safely  have  recourse  for  aid  in 
initiating  the  new  government,  was  Alexander  Hamilton. 
It  is  true  many  had  their  doubts  of  his  sincere  adhesion  to 
it.  In  the  convention  in  Philadelphia  he  had  held  up  the 
British  constitution  as  a  model  to  be  approached,  as  nearly 
as  possible,  by  blending  some  of  the  advantages  of  monarchy 
with  the  republican  form.  The  form  finally  adopted  was 
too  low  toned  for  him ;  he  feared  it  might  prove  feeble  and 
inefficient;  but  he  voted  for  it  as  the  best  attainable,  advo¬ 
cated  it  in  the  State  convention  in  New  York,  and  in  a  series 
of  essays,  collectively  known  as  the  “ Federalist,’’  written 
conjunctively  with  Madison  and  Jay;  and  it  was  mainly 
through  his  efforts  as  a  speaker  and  a  writer  that  the  con¬ 
stitution  was  ultimately  accepted.  Still  many  considered 
him  at  heart  a  monarchist,  and  suspected  him  of  being 
secretly  bent  upon  bringing  the  existing  government  to  the 
monarehial  form. 

In  this  they  did  him  injustice.  He  still  continued,  it 
is  true,  to  doubt  whether  the  republican  theory  would 
admit  of  a  vigorous  execution  of  the  laws,  but  was  clear 
that  it  ought  to  be  adhered  to  as  long  as  there  was  any 
chance  for  its  success.  “The  idea  of  a  perfect  equality  of 
political  rights  among  the  citizens,  exclusive  of  all  permanent 
or  hereditary  distinctions,”  had  not  hitherto,  he  thought, 
from  an  imperfect  structure  of  the  government,  had  a  fair 
trial,  and  “was  of  a  nature  to  engage  the  good  wishes  of 
every  good  man,  whatever  might  be  his  theoretic  doubts;” 
the  endeavor,  therefore,  in  his  opinion,  ought  to  be  to  give 


U/or^s  of  U/a8t?ii>$tor)  Iruir>$ 


126 

it  “a  better  chance  of  success  by  a  government  more  capable 
of  energy  and  order.”  * 

Washington,  who  knew  and  appreciated  Hamilton’s  char¬ 
acter,  had  implicit  confidence  in  his  sincerity,  and  felt  assured 
that  he  would  loyally  aid  in  carrying  into  effect  the  constitu¬ 
tion  as  adopted. 

It  was  a  great  satisfaction  to  Washington,  on  looking 
round  for  reliable  advisers  at  this  moment,  to  see  James 
Madison  among  the  members  of  Congress — Madison,  who 
had  been  with  him  in  the  convention,  who  had  labored  in 
the  “Federalist,”  and  whose  talents  as  a  speaker  and  calm, 
dispassionate  reasoner,  whose  extensive  information  and 
legislative  experience,  destined  him  to  be  a  leader  in  the 
House.  Highly  appreciating  his  intellectual  and  mortal 
worth,  Washington  would  often  turn  to  him  for  counsel. 
“I  am  troublesome,”  would  he  say,  “but  you  must  excuse 
me;  ascribe  it  to  friendship  and  confidence.” 

Knox,  of  whose  sure  sympathies  we  have  spoken,  was 
in  strong  contrast  with  the  cool  statesman  just  mentioned. 
His  mind  was  ardent  and  active,  his  imagination  vivid,  as 
was  his  language.  He  had  abandoned  the  military  garb, 
but  still  maintained  his  soldier-like  air.  He  was  large  in 
person,  above  the  middle  stature,  with  a  full  face,  radiant 
and  benignant,  bespeaking  his  open,  buoyant,  generous 
nature.  He  had  a  sonorous  voice,  and  sometimes  talked 
rather  grandly,  flourishing  his  cane  to  give  effect  to  his 
periods,  t  He  was  cordially  appreciated  by  Washington, 
who  had  experienced  his  prompt  and  efficient  talent  in  time 
of  war,  had  considered  him  one  of  the  ablest  officers  of  the 


*  Hamilton’s  Writings,  iv.  273. 
t  See  Sullivan’s  Letters  on  Public  Characters,  p.  84. 


Cife  of  U/aslpiQ^toij 


127 


Revolution,  and  now  looked  to  him  as  an  energetic  man 
of  business,  capable  of  giving  practical  advice  in  time  of 
peace,  and  cherished  for  him  that  strong  feeling  of  ancient 
companionship  in  toil  and  danger  which  bound  the  veterans 
of  the  Revolution  firmly  to  each  other. 


CHAPTER  TWO 

Washington’s  Privacy  beset  with  Visits  of  Compliment — Queries  as 
to  the  proper  Line  of  Conduct  in  his  Presidential  Intercourse — 
Opinions  of  Adams  and  Hamilton — Jefferson  as  to  the  Authors 
of  the  Minor  Forms  and  Ceremonies — His  whimsioal  Anecdote 
of  the  first  Levee — Inaugural  Ball 

The  moment  the  inauguration  was  over,  Washington 
was  made  to  perceive  that  he  was  no  longer  master  of  him¬ 
self  or  of  his  home.  “By  the  time  I  had  done  breakfast,” 
writes  he,  “and  thence  till  dinner,  and  afterward  till  bed¬ 
time,  1  could  not  get  rid  of  the  ceremony  of  one  visit  before 
I  had  to  attend  to  another.  In  a  word,  I  had  no  leisure  to 
read  or  to  answer  the  dispatches  that  were  pouring  in  upon 
me  from  all  quarters.” 

How  was  he  to  be  protected  from  these  intrusions?  In 
his  former  capacity  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  armies  his 
headquarters  had  been  guarded  by  sentinels  and  military 
etiquette;  but  what  was  to  guard  the  privacy  of  a  popular 
chief  magistrate? 

What,  too,  were  to  be  the  forms  and  ceremonials  to  be 
adopted  in  the  presidential  mansion  that  would  maintain 
the  dignity  of  his  station,  allow  him  time  for  the  perform¬ 
ance  of  its  official  duties,  and  yet  be  in  harmony  with  the 


128 


U/or Ks  of  U/asbffi^toi)  Iruffi^ 


temper  and  feelings  of  the  people  and  the  prevalent  notions 
©f  equality  and  republican  simplicity? 

The  conflict  of  opinions  that  had  already  occurred  as  to 
the  form  and  title  by  which  the  President  was  to  be  addressed 
had  made  him  aware  that  every  step  at  the  outset  of  his 
career  would  be  subject  to  scrutiny,  perhaps  cavil,  and  might 
hereafter  be  cited  as  a  precedent.  Looking  around,  there¬ 
fore,  upon  the  able  men  at  hand,  such  as  Adams,  Hamilton, 
Jay,  Madison,  he  propounded  to  them  a  series  of  questions 
as  to  a  line  of  conduct  proper  for  him  to  observe. 

In  regard  to  visitors,  for  instance,  would  not  one  day 
in  the  week  be  sufficient  for  visits  of  compliment,  and  one 
hour  every  morning  (at  eight  o’clock,  for  example)  for  visits 
on  business? 

Might  he  make  social  visits  to  acquaintances  and  public 
characters,  not  as  President,  but  as  private  individual?  And 
then  as  to  his  table — under  the  preceding  form  of  govern¬ 
ment  the  presidents  of  Congress  had  been  accustomed  to 
give  dinners  twice  a  week  to  large  parties  of  both  sexes,  and 
invitations  had  been  so  indiscriminate  that  every  one  who 
could  get  introduced  to  the  president  conceived  he  had  a 
right  to  be  invited  to  his  board.  The  table  was,  therefore, 
always  crowded,  and  with  a  mixed  company;  yet,  as  it  was 
in  the  nature  of  things  impracticable  to  invite  everybody, 
as  many  offenses  were  given  as  if  no  table  had  been  kept. 

Washington  was  resolved  not  to  give  general  entertain¬ 
ments  of  this  kind,  but  in  his  series  of  questions  he  asked 
whether  he  might  not  invite,  informally  or  otherwise,  six, 
eight  or  ten  official  characters,  including  in  rotation  the 
members  of  both  Houses  of  Congress,  to  dine  with  him 
on  the  days  fixed  for  receiving  company  without  exciting 
clamors  in  the  rest  of  the  community. 


Cife  of  WastyvqtOT) 


129 


Adams,  in  his  reply,  talked  of  chamberlains,  aides-de- 
camp,  masters  of  ceremony,  and  evinced  a  high  idea  of  the 
presidential  office  and  the  state  with  which  it  ought  to  be 
maintained.  “The  office,’ *  writes  he,  “by  its  legal  authority 
defined  in  the  constitution  has  no  equal  in  the  world  except¬ 
ing  those  only  which  are  held  by  crowned  heads ;  nor  is  the 
royal  authority  in  all  cases  to  be  compared  to  it.  The  royal 
office  in  Poland  is  a  mere  shadow  in  comparison  with  it. 
The  Dogeship  in  Venice,  and  the  Stadtholdership  in  Holland 
are  not  so  much — neither  dignity  nor  authority  can  be  sup¬ 
ported  in  human  minds,  collected  into  nations  or  any  great 
numbers,  without  a  splendor  and  majesty  in  some  degree 
proportioned  to  them.  The  sending  and  receiving  embas¬ 
sadors  is  one  of  the  most  splendid  and  important  prerogatives 
of  sovereigns,  absolute  or  limited,  and  this  in  our  constitution 
is  wholly  in  the  President.  If  the  state  and  pomp  essential 
to  this  great  department  are  not  in  a  good  degree  preserved, 
it  will  be  in  vain  for  America  to  hope  for  consideration  with 
foreign  powers.”  * 

According  to  Mr.  Adams,  two  days  in  a  week  would  be 
required  for  the  receipt  of  visits  of  compliment.  Persons 
desiring  an  interview  with  the  President  should  make  appli¬ 
cation  through  the  Minister  of  State.  In  every  case  the 
name,  quality  or  business  of  the  visitor  should  be  communi¬ 
cated  to  a  chamberlain  or  gentleman  in  waiting,  who  should 
judge  whom  to  admit  and  whom  to  exclude.  The  time  for 
receiving  visits  ought  to  be  limited,  as,  for  example,  from 
eight  to  nine  or  ten  o’clock,  lest  the  whole  morning  be  taken 
up.  The  President  might  invite  what  official  character, 
members  of  Congress,  strangers  or  citizens  of  distinction 


*  Life  and  Works  of  John  Adams,  vol.  viii.,  p.  493. 


130 


U/or^s  of  U/a8l?ii)<$toi}  IruiQ$ 


he  pleased,  in  small  parties  without  exciting  clamors;  but 
this  should  always  be  done  without  formality.  His  private 
life  should  be  at  his  own  discretion,  as  to  giving  or  receiving 
informal  visits  among  friends  and  acquaintances;  but  in  his 
official  character  he  should  have  no  intercourse  with  society 
but  upon  public  business,  or  at  his  levees.  Adams,  in  the 
conclusion  of  his  reply,  ingenuously  confessed  that  his  long 
residence  abroad  might  have  impressed  him  with  views  of 
things  incompatible  with  the  present  temper  and  feelings 
of  his  fellow- citizens;  and  Jefferson  seems  to  have  been 
heartily  of  the  same  opinion,  for  speaking  of  Adams  in  his 
“Anas,”  he  observes  that  “the  glare  of  royalty  and  nobility, 
during  his  mission  to  England,  had  made  him  believe  their 
fascination  a  necessary  ingredient  in  government.”  *  Ham¬ 
ilton,  in  his  reply,  while  he  considered  it  a  primary  object 
for  the  public  good  that  the  dignity  of  the  presidential  office 
should  be  supported,  advised  that  care  should  be  taken  to 
avoid  so  high  a  tone  in  the  demeanor  of  the  occupant  as 
to  shock  the  prevalent  notions  of  equality. 

The  President,  he  thought,  should  hold  a  levee  at  a  fixed 
time  once  a  week,  remain  half  an  hour,  converse  cursorily 
©n  different  subjects  with  such  persons  as  invited  his  atten¬ 
tion,  and  then  retire. 

He  should  accept  no  invitations,  give  formal  entertain¬ 
ments  twice,  or  at  most  four  times  in  the  year;  if  twice,  on 
the  anniversaries  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and 
of  his  inauguration;  if  four  times,  the  anniversary  of  the 
treaty  of  alliance  with  France  and  that  of  the  definitive 
treaty  with  Great  Britain  to  be  added. 

The  President  on  levee  days  to  give  informal  invitations 


*  Jefferson’s  Works,  ix.  97. 


Cife  of  U/asl?i[}$t:oi} 


131 


to  family  dinners ;  not  more  than  six  or  eight  to  be  asked 
at  a  time,  and  the  civility  to  be  confined  essentially  to  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  legislature,  and  other  official  characters — the 
President  never  to  remain  long  at  table. 

The  heads  of  departments  should,  of  course,  have  access 
to  the  President  on  business.  Foreign  ministers  of  some 
descriptions  should  also  be  entitled  to  it.  “In  Europe,  1  am 
informed,”  writes  Hamilton,  “embassadors  only  have  direct 
access  to  the  chief  magistrate.  Something  very  near  what 
prevails  there  would,  in  my  opinion,  be  right.  The  distinc¬ 
tion  of  rank  between  diplomatic  characters  requires  attention, 
and  the  door  of  access  ought  not  to  be  too  wide  to  that  class 
of  persons.  I  have  thought  that  the  members  of  the  Senate 
should  also  have  a  right  of  individual  access  on  matters 
relative  to  the  public  administration.  In  England  and 
France  peers  of  the  realm  have  this  right.  We  have  none 
such  in  this  country,  but  I  believe  it  will  be  satisfactory  to 
the  people  to  know  that  there  is  some  body  of  men  in  the 
state  who  have  a  right  of  continual  communication  with 
the  President.  It  will  be  considered  a  safeguard  against 
secret  combinations  to  deceive  him.”  * 

The  reason  alleged  by  Hamilton  for  giving  the  Senate 
this  privilege,  and  not  the  Representatives,  was,  that  in  the 
constitution  “the  Senate  are  coupled  with  the  President  in 
certain  executive  functions,  treaties  and  appointments.  This 
makes  them  in  a  degree  his  constitutional  counselors,  and 
gives  them  a  peculiar  claim  to  the  right  of  access.” 

These  are  the  only  written  replies  that  we  have  before 
us  of  Washington’s  advisers  on  this  subject. 

Colonel  Humphreys,  formerly  one  of  Washington’s  aides- 


*  Hamilton’s  Works,  vol.  iv.,  p.  3. 


132 


U/or^s  of  U/a8f?ii}<$toQ  Iruii?<$ 


de-camp,  and  recently  secretary  of  Jefferson’s  legation  at 
Paris,  was  at  present  an  inmate  in  the  presidential  mansion. 
General  Knox  was  frequently  there;  to  these  Jefferson 
assures  us,  on  Washington’s  authority,  was  assigned  the 
task  of  considering  and  prescribing  the  minor  forms  and 
ceremonies,  the  etiquette,  in  fact,  to  be  observed  on  public 
occasions.  Some  of  the  forms  proposed  by  them,  he  adds, 
were  adopted.  Others  were  so  highly  strained  that  Wash¬ 
ington  absolutely  rejected  them.  Knox  was  no  favorite  with 
Jefferson,  who  had  no  sympathies  with  the  veteran  soldier, 
and  styles  him  “a  man  of  parade,”  and  Humphreys  he 
appears  to  think  captivated  by  the  ceremonials  of  foreign 
courts.  He  gives  a  whimsical  account,  which  he  had  at 
second  or  third  hand,  of  the  first  levee.  An  ante-chamber 
and  presence- room  were  provided,  and  when  those  who  were 
to  pay  their  court  were  assembled  the  President  set  out, 

preceded  by  Humphreys.  After  passing  through  the  ante- 

* 

chamber  the  door  of  the  inner  room  was  thrown  open, 
and  Humphreys  entered  first,  calling  out  with  a  loud  voice, 
“The  President  of  the  United  States.”  The  President  was 
so  much  disconcerted  with  it  that  he  did  not  recover  in  the 
whole  time  of  the  levee,  and,  when  the  company  were  gone, 
he  said  to  Humphreys,  “Well,  you  have  taken  me  in  once, 
but,  by - ,  you  shall  never  take  me  in  a  second  time.  ” 

This  anecdote  is  to  be  taken  with  caution,  for  Jefferson 
was  disposed  to  receive  any  report  that  placed  the  forms 
adopted  in  a  disparaging  point  of  view. 

He  gives  in  his  Ana  a  still  more  whimsical  account  on 
the  authority  of  “a  Mr.  Brown,”  of  the  ceremonials  at  an 
inauguration  ball  at  which  Washington  and  Mrs.  Washing¬ 
ton  presided  in  almost  regal  style.  As  it  has  been  proved 
to  be  entirely  incorrect,  we  have  not  deemed  it  worthy  an 


Cife  of  U/asl?io<$toi) 


133 


insertion.  A  splendid  ball  was  in  fact  given  at  the  Assembly 
Rooms,  and  another  by  the  French  Minister,  the  Count  de 
Moustier,  at  both  of  which  Washington  was  present  and 
danced;  but  Mrs.  Washington  was  not  at  either  of  them, 
not  being  yet  arrived,  and  on  neither  occasion  were  any 
mock  regal  ceremonies  observed.  Washington  was  the  last 
man  that  would  have  tolerated  anything  of  the  kind.  Our 
next  chapter  will  show  the  almost  casual  manner  in  which 
the  simple  formalities  of  his  republican  court  originated. 


CHAPTER  THREE 

Journey  of  Mrs.  Washington  to  New  York — Honors  paid  her  in 
her  Progress — Receptions  at  the  Seat  of  Government — The 
President’s  Equipage 

On  the  17th  of  May,  Mrs.  Washington,  accompanied  by 
her  grandchildren,  Eleanor  Custis  and  George  Washington 
Parke  Custis,  set  out  from  Mount  Vernon  in  her  traveling 
carriage  with  a  small  escort  of  horse,  to  join  her  husband 
at  the  seat  of  government,  as  she  had  been  accustomed  to 
join  him  at  headquarters  in  the  intervals  of  his  revolutionary 
campaigns. 

Throughout  the  journey  she  was  greeted  with  public 
testimonials  of  respect  and  affection.  As  she  approached 
Philadelphia  the  President  of  Pennsylvania  and  other  of  the 
State  functionaries,  with  a  number  of  the  principal  inhabi¬ 
tants  of  both  sexes,  came  forth  to  meet  her,  and  she  was 
attended  into  the  city  by  a  numerous  cavalcade,  and  wel¬ 
comed  with  the  ringing  of  bells  and  firing  of  cannon. 

Similar  honors  were  paid  her  in  her  progress  through 


134 


U/orks  of  U/asl?ii}$toi)  Irvip$ 


New  Jersey.  At  Elizabethtown  she  alighted  at  the  resi¬ 
dence  of  Governor  Livingston,  whither  Washington  came 
from  New  York  to  meet  her.  They  proceeded  thence  by 
water,  in  the  same  splendid  barge  in  which  the  general  had 
been  conveyed  for  his  inauguration.  It  was  manned,  as  on 
that  occasion,  by  thirteen  master  pilots,  arrayed  in  white, 
and  had  several  persons  of  note  on  board.  There  was  a 
salute  of  thirteen  guns  as  the  barge  passed  the  Battery  at 
New  York.  The  landing  took  place  at  Peck  Slip,  not  far 
from  the  presidential  residence,  amid  the  enthusiastic  cheers 
of  an  immense  multitude. 

On  the  following  day,  Washington  gave  a  demi-official 
dinner,  of  which  Mr.  Wingate,  a  Senator  from  New  Hamp¬ 
shire,  who  was  present,  writes  as  follows :  ‘  ‘  The  guests  con¬ 
sisted  of  the  Vice-President,  the  foreign  ministers,  the  heads 
of  departments,  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
and  the  Senators  from  New  Hampshire  and  Georgia,  the 
then  most  Northern  and  Southern  States.  It  was  the  least 
showy  dinner  that  I  ever  saw  at  the  President’s  table,  and 
the  company  was  not  large.  As  there  was  no  chaplain  pres¬ 
ent,  the  President  himself  said  a  very  short  grace  as  he  was 
sitting  down.  After  dinner  and  dessert  were  finished,  one 
glass  of  wine  was  passed  around  the  table,  and  no  toast. 
The  President  rose,  and  all  the  company  retired  to  the  draw¬ 
ing-room,  from  which  the  guests  departed,  as  every  one 
chose,  without  ceremony.” 

On  the  evening  of  the  following  day  (Friday,  May  29th), 
Mrs.  Washington  had  a  general  reception,  which  was  at¬ 
tended  by  all  that  was  distinguished  in  official  and  fashion¬ 
able  society.  Henceforward  there  were  similar  receptions 
every  Friday  evening,  from  eight  to  ten  o’clock,  to  which 
the  families  of  all  persons  of  respectability,  native  or  foreign, 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii}<$toi) 


135 


had  access,  without  special  invitation;  and  at  which  the 
President  was  always  present.  These  assemblages  were  as 
free  from  ostentation  and  restraint  as  the  ordinary  receptions 
of  polite  society ;  yet  the  reader  will  find  they  were  soon  sub¬ 
ject  to  invidious  misrepresentation,  and  caviled  at  as  “court¬ 
like  levees”  and  “queenly  drawing-rooms.” 

Besides  these  public  receptions,  the  presidential  family 
had  its  private  circle  of  social  intimacy;  the  President,  more¬ 
over,  was  always  ready  to  receive  visits  by  appointment  on 
public  or  private  business. 

The  sanctity  and  quiet  of  Sunday  were  strictly  observed 
by  Washington.  He  attended  church  in  the  morning,  and 
passed  the  afternoon  alone  in  his  closet.  No  visitors  Were 
admitted,  excepting,  perhaps,  an  intimate  friend  in  the  even¬ 
ing,  which  was  spent  by  him  in  the  bosom  of  his  family. 

The  household  establishment  was  conducted  on  an  ample 
and  dignified  scale,  but  without  ostentation,  and  regulated 
with  characteristic  system  and  exactness.  Samuel  Fraunces, 
once  landlord  of  the  city  tavern  in  Broad  Street,  where 
Washington  took  leave  of  the  officers  of  the  army  in  1783, 
was  now  steward  of  the  presidential  household.  He  was 
required  to  render  a  weekly  statement  of  receipts  and  ex¬ 
penditures,  and  warned  to  guard  against  waste  and  extrava¬ 
gance.  “We  are  happy  to  inform  our  readers,”  says  Fen- 
no’s  Gazette  of  the  day,  “that  the  President  is  determined 
to  pursue  that  system  of  regularity  and  economy  in  his 
household  which  has  always  marked  his  public  and  private 
life.” 

# 

In  regard  to  the  deportment  of  Washington  at  this  junc¬ 
ture,  we  have  been  informed  by  one  who  had  opportunities 
of  seeing  him  that  he  still  retained  a  military  air  of  command 
which  had  become  habitual  to  him.  At  levees  and  drawing- 


136 


U/orl{8  of  U/asfyip^toQ  Iruip$ 


rooms  he  sometimes  appeared  cold  and  distant,  but  this  was 
attributed  by  those  who  best  knew  him  to  the  novelty  of  his 
position  and  his  innate  diffidence,  which  seemed  to  increase 
with  the  light  which  his  renown  shed  about  him.  Though 
reserved  at  times,  his  reserve  had  nothing  repulsive  in  it, 
and  in  social  intercourse,  where  he  was  no  longer  under  the 
eye  of  critical  supervision,  soon  gave  way  to  soldier- like 
frankness  and  cordiality.  At  all  times  his  courtesy  was 
genuine  and  benignant,  and  totally  free  from  that  stately 
condescension  sometimes  mistaken  for  politeness.  Nothing, 
we  are  told,  could  surpass  the  noble  grace  with  which  he 
presided  at  a  ceremonial  dinner;  kindly  attentive  to  all  his 
guests,  but  particularly  attentive  to  put  those  at  their  ease 
and  in  a  favorable  light  who  appeared  to  be  most  diffident. 

As  to  Mrs.  Washington,  those  who  really  knew  her  at 
the  time  speak  of  her  as  free  from  pretension  or  affectation, 
undazzled  by  her  position,  and  discharging  its  duties  with 
the  truthful  simplicity  and  real  good-breeding  of  one  accus¬ 
tomed  to  preside  over  a  hospitable  mansion  in  the  “Ancient 
Dominion.’ *  She  had  her  husband’s  predilection  for  private 
life. 

In  a  letter  to  an  intimate  she  writes:  “It  is  owing  to  the 
kindness  of  our  numerous  friends  in  all  quarters  that  my 
new  and  unwished-for  situation  is  not  indeed  a  burden  to 
me.  When  I  was  much  younger,  I  should  probably  have 
enjoyed  the  innocent  gayeties  of  life  as  much  as  most  persons 
of  my  age;  but  I  had  long  since  placed  all  the  prospects  of 
my  future  worldly  happiness  in  the  still  enjoyments  of  the 
fireside  at  Mount  Vernon. 

“I  little  thought,  when  the  war  was  finished,  that  any 
circumstances  could  possibly  happen  which  would  call  the 
general  into  public  life  again.  I  had  anticipated  that  from 


Cife  of  U/asf?ir7$toi} 


137 


that  moment  we  should  be  suffered  to  grow  old  together  in 
solitude  and  tranquillity.  That  was  the  first  and  dearest 
wish  of  my  heart.  ’  ’  * 

Much  has  been  said  of  Washington’s  equipages,  when 
at  New  York,  and  of  his  having  four,  and  sometimes  six 
horses  before  his  carriage,  with  servants  and  outriders  in 
rich  livery.  Such  style,  we  would  premise,  was  usual  at 
the  time  both  in  England  and  the  colonies,  and  had  been 
occasionally  maintained  by  the  Continental  dignitaries  and 
by  governors  of  the  several  States  prior  to  the  adoption  of 
the  new  constitution.  It  was  still  prevalent,  we  are  told, 
among  the  wealthy  planters  of  the  South,  and  sometimes 
adopted  by  ‘‘merchant  princes”  and  rich  individuals  at  the 
North.  It  does  not  appear,  however,  that  Washington  ever 
indulged  in  it  through  ostentation.  When  he  repaired  to 
the  Hall  of  Congress,  at  his  inauguration,  he  was  drawn 
by  a  single  pair  of  horses  in  a  chariot  presented  for  the  occa¬ 
sion,  on  the  panels  of  which  were  emblazoned  the  arms  of 
the  United  States. 

Besides  this  modest  equipage  there  was  the  ample  family 
carriage  which  had  been  brought  from  Virginia.  To  this 
four  horses  were  put  when  the  family  drove  out  into  the 
country,  the  state  of  the  roads  in  those  days  requiring  it. 
For  the  same  reason  six  horses  were  put  to  the  same  vehicle 
on  journeys,  and  once  on  a  state  occasion.  If  there  was 
anything  he  was  likely  to  take  a  pride  in,  it  was  horses;  he 
was  passionately  fond  of  that  noble  animal,  and  mention  is 
occasionally  made  of  four  white  horses  of  great  beauty  which 
he  owned  while  in  New  York,  f  His  favorite  exercise,  when 

*  Quoted  in  a  note  to  Sparks,  p.  422. 

f  For  some  of  these  particulars  concerning  Washington 
we  are  indebted  to  the  late  William  A.  Duer,  president  of 


138 


U/or^s  of  U/asbir^top  Iruii?$ 


the  weather  permitted  it,  was  on  horseback,  accompanied  by 
one  or  more  of  the  members  of  his  household,  and  he  was 
noted  always  for  being  admirably  mounted  and  one  of  the 
best  horsemen  of  his  day. 


CHAPTER  FOUR 

Alarming  Illness  of  the  President — The  Senate  rejects  one  of  his 
Nominations — His  sensitive  Vindication  of  it — Death  of  his 
Mother— Her  Character — The  Executive  Departments  insti¬ 
tuted — Selection  of  Officers  for  the  Treasury  and  War  De¬ 
partments — Hamilton  instructed  to  report  a  Financial  Plan  at 
the  next  Session  of  Congress — Arrangement  of  the  Judiciary 
Department — Edmund  Randolph — Adjournment  of  Congress — 
Its  Character,  by  Fisher  Ames 

* 

As  soon  as  W  ashington  could  command  sufficient  leisure 
to  inspect  papers  and  documents,  he  called  unofficially  upon 
the  heads  of  departments  to  furnish  him  with  such  reports  in 
writing  as  would  aid  him  in  gaining  a  distinct  idea  of  the 
state  of  public  affairs.  For  this  purpose  also  he  had  recourse 
to  the  public  archives,  and  proceeded  to  make  notes  of  the 
foreign  official  correspondence  from  the  close  of  the  war  un¬ 
til  his  inauguration.  He  was  interrupted  in  his  task  by  a 
virulent  attack  of  anthrax,  which  for  several  days  threat- 

Columbia  College,  who  in  his  boyhood  was  frequently  in  the 
President’s  house,  playmate  of  young  Custis,  Mrs.  Washing¬ 
ton’s  grandson. 

Washington's  Residences  in  New  York. — The  first  Presi¬ 
dential  residence  was  at  the  junction  of  Pearl  and  Cherry 
Streets,  Franklin  Square.  At  the  end  of  about  a  year,  the 
President  removed  to  the  house  on  the  west  side  of  Broad¬ 
way,  near  Rector  Street,  afterward  known  as  Bunker’s  Man¬ 
sion  House.  Both  of  these  buildings  have  disappeared,  in 
the  course  of  “modern  improvements.” 


Cife  of  U/asl?ir}$(:or) 


139 


ened  mortification.  The  knowledge  of  his  perilous  condition 
spread  alarm  through  the  community;  he,  however,  re¬ 
mained  unagitated.  His  medical  adviser  was  Dr.  Samuel 
Bard,  of  New  York,  an  excellent  physician  and  most  esti¬ 
mable  man,  who  attended  him  with  unremitting  assiduity. 

Being  alone  one  day  with  the  doctor,  Washington  re¬ 
garded  him  steadily,  and  asked  his  candid  opinion  as  to  the 
probable  result  of  his  case.  “Do  not  flatter  me  with  vain 
hopes,”  said  he,  with  placid  firmness;  “I  am  not  afraid  to 
die,  and  therefore  can  bear  the  worst.”  The  doctor  ex¬ 
pressed  hope,  but  owned  that  he  had  apprehensions. 
“Whether  to-night  or  twenty  years  hence  makes  no  dif¬ 
ference,”  observed  Washington.  “1  know  that  I  am  in  the 
hands  of  a  good  Providence.”  His  sufferings  were  intense 
and  his  recovery  was  slow.  For  six  weeks  he  was  obliged 
to  lie  on  his  right  side ;  but  after  a  time  he  had  his  carriage 
so  contrived  that  he  could  extend  himself  at  full  length  in  it 
and  take  exercise  in  the  open  air. 

While  rendered  morbidly  sensitive  by  bodily  pain,  he 
suffered  deep  annoyance  from  having  one  of  his  earliest 
nominations,  that  of  Benjamin  Fishburn,  for  the  place  of 
naval  officer  of  the  port  of  Savannah,  rejected  by  the 
Senate. 

If  there  was  anything  in  which  Washington  was  scrupu¬ 
lously  conscientious,  it  was  in  the  exercise  of  the  nominating 
power;  scrutinizing  the  fitness  of  candidates;  their  compara¬ 
tive  claims  on  account  of  public  services  and  sacrifices,  and 
with  regard  to  the  equable  distribution  of  offices  among  the 
States;  in  all  which  he  governed  himself  solely  by  consid¬ 
erations  for  the  public  good.  He  was  especially  scrupulous 
where  his  own  friends  and  connections  were  concerned.  “So 
far  as  I  know  my  own  mind,”  would  he  say,  “I  would  not 


140 


U/orl^s  of  U/as^ir^top  Iruip<$ 


be  in  the  remotest  degree  influenced  in  making  nominations 
by  motives  arising  from  the  ties  of  family  or  blood.” 

He  was  principally  hurt  in  the  present  instance  by  the 
want  of  deference  on  the  part  of  the  Senate  in  assigning  no 
reason  for  rejecting  his  nomination  of  Mr.  Fishburn.  He 
acquiesced,  however,  in  the  rejection,  and  forthwith  sent  in 
the  name  of  another  candidate ;  but  at  the  same  time  admin¬ 
istered  a  temperate  and  dignified  rebuke.  “Whatever  may 
have  been  the  reasons  which  induced  your  dissent,  ”  writes 
he  to  the  Senate,  “I  am  persuaded  that  they  were  such  as 
you  deemed  sufficient.  Permit  me  to  submit  to  your  consid¬ 
eration,  whether,  on  occasions  where  the  propriety  of  nomi¬ 
nations  appears  questionable  to  you,  it  would  not  be  expedi¬ 
ent  to  communicate  that  circumstance  to  me,  and  thereby 
avail  yourselves  of  the  information  which  led  me  to  make 
them,  and  which  I  would  with  pleasure  lay  before  you. 
Probably  my  reasons  for  nominating  Mr.  Fishburn  may 
tend  to  show  that  such  a  mode  of  proceeding,  in  such  cases, 
might  be  useful.  I  will  therefore  detail  them.” 

He  then  proceeds  to  state  that  Colonel  Fishburn  had 
served  under  his  own  eye  with  reputation  as  an  officer  and  a 
gentleman;  had  distinguished  himself  at  the  storming  of 
Stony  Point;  had  repeatedly  been  elected  to  the  Assembly 
of  Georgia  as  a  representative  from  Chatham  County,  in 
which  Savannah  was  situated;  had  been  elected  by  the 
officers  of  the  militia  of  that  county  lieutenant-colonel  of 
the  militia  of  the  district;  had  been  member  of  the  Execu¬ 
tive  Council  of  the  State,  and  president  of  the  same;  had 
been  appointed  by  the  council  to  an  office  which  he  actually 
held,  in  the  port  of  Savannah,  nearly  similar  to  that  for 
which  Washington  had  nominated  him. 

“It  appeared,  therefore,  to  me,”  adds  Washington,  “that 


Cife  of  U/a8l?ii)$tor) 


141 


Mr.  Fishburn  must  have  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  the  mi¬ 
litia  officers  in  order  to  have  been  elected  to  a  military  rank 
— the  confidence  of  the  freemen  to  have  been  elected  to  the 
Assembly — the  confidence  of  the  Assembly  to  have  been 
selected  for  the  Council,  and  the  confidence  of  the  Council 
to  have  been  appointed  collector  of  the  port  of  Savannah.” 

"We  give  this  letter  in  some  detail,  as  relating  to  the  only 
instance  in  which  a  nomination  by  Washington  was  rejected. 
The  reasons  of  the  Senate  for  rejecting  it  do  not  appear. 
They  seem  to  have  felt  his  rebuke,  for  the  nomination  last 
made  by  him  was  instantly  confirmed. 

While  yet  in  a  state  of  convalescence,  Washington  re¬ 
ceived  intelligence  of  the  death  of  his  mother.  The  event, 
which  took  place  at  Fredericksburg  in  Virginia,  on  the  25th 
of  August,  was  not  unexpected ;  she  was  eighty- two  years 
of  age,  and  had  for  some  time  been  sinking  under  an  incur¬ 
able  malady,  so  that  when  he  last  parted  with  her  he  had 
apprehended  that  it  was  a  final  separation.  Still  he  was 
deeply  affected  by  the  intelligence ;  consoling  himself,  how¬ 
ever,  with  the  reflection  that  “Heaven  had  spared  her  to  an 
age  beyond  which  few  attain ;  had  favored  her  with  the  full 
enjoyment  of  her  mental  faculties,  and  as  much  bodily  health 
as  usually  falls  to  the  lot  of  fourscore.” 

Mrs.  Mary  Washington  is  represented  as  a  woman  of 
strong  plain  sense,  strict  integrity,  and  an  inflexible  spirit 
of  command.  We  have  mentioned  the  exemplary  manner 
in  which  she,  a  lone  widow,  had  trained  her  little  flock  in 
their  childhood.  The  deference  for  her,  then  instilled  into 
their  minds,  continued  throughout  life,  and  was  manifested 
by  Washington  when  at  the  height  of  his  power  and  reputa 
tion.  Eminently  practical,  she  had  thwarted  his  military 
aspirings  when  he  was  about  to  seek  honor  in  the  British 


142 


U/orl^s  of  U/as^ir>^tor>  Iruip$ 


navy.  During  his  early  and  disastrous  campaigns  on  the 
frontier  she  would  often  shake  her  head  and  exclaim,  “Ah, 
George  had  better  have  stayed  at  home  and  cultivated  his 
farm.”  Even  his  ultimate  success  and  renown  had  never 
dazzled,  however  much  they  may  have  gratified  her.  When 
others  congratulated  her,  and  were  enthusiastic  in  his  praise, 
she  listened  in  silence,  and  would  temperately  reply  that  he 
had  been  a  good  son,  and  she  believed  he  had  done  his  duty 
as  a  man. 

Hitherto  the  new  government  had  not  been  properly  or¬ 
ganized,  but  its  several  duties  had  been  performed  by  the 
officers  who  had  them  in  charge  at  the  time  of  Washington’s 
inauguration.  It  was  not  until  the  10th  of  September  that 
laws  were  passed  instituting  a  department  of  Foreign  Affairs 
(afterward  termed  Department  of  State),  a  Treasury  Depart¬ 
ment,  and  a  Department  of  War,  and  fixing  their  respective 
salaries.  On  the  following  day,  Washington  nominated 
General  Knox  to  the  Department  of  War,  the  duties  of 
which  that  officer  had  hitherto  discharged. 

The  post  of  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  was  one  of  far 
greater  importance  at  the  present  moment.  It  was  a  time 
of  financial  exigency.  As  yet  no  statistical  account  of 
the  country  had  been  attempted;  its  fiscal  resources  were 
wholly  unknown;  its  credit  was  almost  annihilated,  for  it 
was  obliged  to  borrow  money  even  to  pay  the  interest  of 
its  debts. 

We  have  already  quoted  the  language  held  by  Washing¬ 
ton  in  regard  to  this  state  of  things  before  he  had  assumed 
the  direction  of  affairs.  “My  endeavors  shall  be  unremit¬ 
tingly  exerted,  even  at  the  hazard  of  former  fame  or  present 
popularity,  to  extricate  my  country  from  the  embarrassments 
in  which  it  is  entangled  through  want  of  credit.” 


/ 


Cife  of  U/asIpip^toQ  243 

Under  all  these  circumstances,  and  to  carry  out  these 
views,  he  needed  an  able  and  zealous  coadjutor  in  the  Treas¬ 
ury  Department;  one  equally  solicitous  with  himself  on  the 
points  in  question,  and  more  prepared  upon  them  by  finan¬ 
cial  studies  and  investigations  than  he  could  pretend  to  be. 
Such  a  person  he  considered  Alexander  Hamilton,  whom  he 
nominated  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  whose  qualifi¬ 
cations  for  the  office  were  so  well  understood  by  the  Senate 
that  his  nomination  was  confirmed  on  the  same  day  on  which 
it  was  made. 

Within  a  few  days  after  Hamilton’s  appointment  the 
House  of  Representatives  (Sept.  21),  acting  upon  the  policy 
so  ardently  desired  by  Washington,  passed  a  resolution  de¬ 
claring  their  opinion  of  the  high  importance  to  the  honor 
and  prosperity  of  the  United  States  that  an  adequate  provis¬ 
ion  should  be  made  for  the  support  of  public  credit;  and  in¬ 
structing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  prepare  a  plan  for 
the  purpose  and  report  it  at  their  next  session. 

The  arrangement  of  the  Judicial  Department  was  one  of 
Washington’s  earliest  cares.  On  the  27th  of  September  he 
wrote  unofficially  to  Edmund  Randolph,  of  Virginia,  inform¬ 
ing  him  that  he  had  nominated  him  Attorney-general  of  the 
United  States,  and  would  be  highly  gratified  with  his  accept¬ 
ance  of  that  office.  Some  old  recollections  of  the  camp  and 
of  the  early  days  of  the  Revolution  may  have  been  at  the 
bottom  of  this  good-will,  for  Randolph  had  joined  the  army 
at  Cambridge,  in  1775,  and  acted  for  a  time  as  aid-de-camp 
to  Washington  in  place  of  Mifflin.  He  had  since  gained  ex- 
perience  in  legislative  business  as  member  of  Congress,  from 
1779  to  1782,  Governor  of  Virginia  in  1786,  and  delegate  to 
the  convention  in  1787.  In  the  discussions  of  that  celebrated 
body  he  had  been  opposed  to  a  single  executive,  professing  to 


144 


U/orks  of  U/asbffi^toq 


discern  in  the  unity  of  that  power  the  “foetus  of  monarchy”; 
and  preferring  an  executive  consisting  of  three ;  whereas,  in 
the  opinion  of  others,  this  plural  executive  would  be  “a  kind 
of  Cerberus  with  three  heads.”  Like  Madison,  he  had  dis¬ 
approved  of  the  equality  of  suffrage  in  the  Senate,  and  been, 
moreover,  of  opinion  that  the  President  should  be  ineligible 
to  office  after  a  given  number  of  years. 

Dissatisfied  with  some  of  the  provisions  of  the  constitu¬ 
tion  as  adopted,  he  had  refused  to  sign  it ;  but  had  afterward 
supported  it  in  the  State  convention  of  Virginia.  As  we  rec¬ 
ollect  him  many  years  afterward,  his  appearance  and  ad¬ 
dress  were  dignified  and  prepossessing;  he  had  an  express!  va 
countenance,  a  beaming  eye,  and  somewhat  of  the  ore  ro - 
tundo  in  speaking.  Randolph  promptly  accepted  the  nomi¬ 
nation,  but  did  not  take  his  seat  in  the  cabinet  until  some 
months  after  Knox  and  Hamilton. 

By  the  judicial  system  established  for  the  Federal  gov¬ 
ernment,  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  was  to  be 
composed  of  a  chief- justice  and  five  associate  judges.  There 
were  to  be  district  courts  with  a  judge  in  each  State,  and  cir¬ 
cuit  courts  held  by  an  associate  judge  and  a  district  judge. 
John  Jay,  of  New  York,  received  the  appointment  of  Chief- 
justice,  and  in  a  letter  inclosing  his  commission,  Washing¬ 
ton  expressed  the  singular  pleasure  he  felt  in  addressing  him 
“as  the  head  of  that  department  which  must  be  considered 
as  the  keystone  of  our  political  fabric.” 

Jay’s  associate  judges  were  John  Rutledge  of  South 
Carolina,  James  Wilson  of  Pennsylvania,  William  Cushing 
of  Massachusetts,  John  Blair  of  Virginia,  and  James  Iredell 
of  North  Carolina.  Washington  had  originally  nominated 
to  one  of  the  judgeships  his  former  military  secretary,  Rob¬ 
ert  Harrison,  familiarly  known  as  the  old  Secretary;  but  he 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii)$toi) 


145 


preferred  the  office  of  Chancellor  of  Maryland,  recently  con¬ 
ferred  upon  him. 

On  the  29th  of  September,  Congress  adjourned  to  the  first 
Monday  in  January,  after  an  arduous  session,  in  which  many 
important  questions  had  been  discussed,  and  powers  organ¬ 
ized  and  distributed.  The  actual  Congress  was  inferior  in 
eloquence  and  shining  talent  to  the  first  Congress  of  the 
Kevolution;  but  it  possessed  men  well  fitted  for  the  momen¬ 
tous  work  before  them;  sober,  solid,  upright  and  well  in¬ 
formed.  An  admirable  harmony  had  prevailed  between  the 
legislature  and  the  executive,  and  the  utmost  decorum  had 
reigned  over  the  public  deliberations. 

Fisher  Ames,  then  a  young  man,  who  had  acquired  a 
brilliant  reputation  in  Massachusetts  by  the  eloquence  with 
which  he  had  championed  the  new  constitution  in  the  con¬ 
vention  of  that  important  State,  and  who  had  recently  been 
elected  to  Congress,  speaks  of  it  in  the  following  terms:  “I 
have  never  seen  an  assembly  where  so  little  art  was  used. 
If  they  wish  to  carry  a  point,  it  is  directly  declared  and 
justified.  Its  merits  and  defects  are  plainly  stated,  not  with¬ 
out  sophistry  and  prejudice,  but  without  management.  .  .  . 
There  is  no  intrigue,  no  caucusing,  little  of  clanning  to¬ 
gether,  little  asperity  in  debate,  or  personal  bitterness  out  of 
file  House,” 


Vol.  XV.—*  *  *? 


146 


Worlds  of  U/as^ip^top  Iruii)^ 


CHAPTER  FIVE 

The  Department  of  State  still  without  a  Head — Sketch  of  Jeffer¬ 
son’s  Character  and  Opinions — Deeply  immersed  in  French  Poli¬ 
tics  at  Paris — Gouverneur  Morris  abroad— Contrast  of  his  and 
Jefferson’s  Views  on  the  French  Crisis — News  of  the  French 
Revolution  in  America — Popular  Excitement — Washington’s 
cautious  Opinion  on  the  Subject — Hamilton’s  apprehensive 
View — Jefferson  offered  a  Place  in  the  Cabinet  as  Secretary 
of  State 

The  cabinet  was  still  incomplete ;  the  Department  of  For¬ 
eign  Affairs,  or  rather  of  State,  as  it  was  now  called,  was  yet 
to  be  supplied  with  a  head.  John  Jay  would  have  received 

the  nomination  had  he  not  preferred  the  bench.  Washing- 

» 

ton  next  thought  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  who  had  so  long  filled 
the  post  of  Minister  Plenipotentiary  at  the  Court  of  Versail¬ 
les,  but  had  recently  solicited  and  obtained  permission  to  re¬ 
turn,  for  a  few  months,  to  the  United  States,  for  the  purpose 
of  placing  his  children  among  their  friends  in  their  native 
country,  and  of  arranging  his  private  affairs,  which  had 
suffered  from  his  protracted  absence.  And  here  we  will 
venture  a  few  particulars  concerning  this  eminent  states- 
man,  introductory  to  the  important  influence  he  was  to  ex¬ 
ercise  on  national  affairs. 

His  political  principles  as  a  democratic  republican  had 
Deen  avowed  at  an  early  date  in  his  draft  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  and  subsequently  in  the  successful  war 
which  he  made  upon  the  old  cavalier  traditions  of  his  native 
State ;  its  laws  of  entails  and  primogeniture,  and  its  church 


Cife  of  U/asl?ip^toi) 


147 


establishment — a  war  which  broke  down  the  hereditary  fort¬ 
unes  and  hereditary  families,  and  put  an  end  to  the  heredi¬ 
tary  aristocracy  of  the  Ancient  Dominion. 

Being  sent  to  Paris  as  minister  plenipotentiary  a  year  or 
two  after  the  peace,  he  arrived  there,  as  he  says,  “when  the 
American  Revolution  seemed  to  have  awakened  the  thinking 
part  of  the  French  nation  from  the  sleep  of  despotism  in 
which  they  had  been  sunk.” 

Carrying  with  him  his  republican  principles  and  zeal,  his 
house  became  the  resort  of  Lafayette  and  others  of  the 
French  officers  who  had  served  in  the  American  Revolution. 
They  were  mostly,  he  said,  young  men  little  shackled  by 
habits  and  prejudices,  and  had  come  back  with  new  ideas 
and  new  impressions,  which  began  to  be  disseminated  by 
the  press  and  in  conversation.  Politics  became  the  theme  of 
all  societies,  male  and  female,  and  a  very  extensive  and  zeal¬ 
ous  party  was  formed  which  acquired  the  appellation  of  the 
Patriot  Party,  who,  sensible  of  the  abuses  of  the  government 
under  which  .they  lived,  sighed  for  occasions  of  reforming 
it.  “This  party,”  writes  Jefferson,  “comprehended  all  the 
honesty  of  the  kingdom  sufficiently  at  leisure  to  think,  the 
men  of  letters,  the  easy  bourgeois,  the  young  nobility,  partly 
from  reflection,  partly  from  the  mode;  for  these  sentiments 
became  matter  of  mode,  and,  as  such,  united  most  of  the 
young  women  to  the  party.” 

By  this  party  Jefferson  was  considered  high  authority 
from  his  republican  principles  and  experience,  and  his  advice 
was  continually  sought  in  the  great  effort  for  political  reform 
which  was  daily  growing  stronger  and  stronger.  His  ab¬ 
sence  in  Europe  had  prevented  his  taking  part  in  the  debates 
on  the  new  constitution,  but  he  had  exercised  his  influence 
through  his  correspondence.  “I  expressed  freely,”  writes 


148 


U/orl^s  of  U/asfiir^top  IruiQ$ 


he,  “in  letters  to  my  friends,  and  most  particularly  to  Mr. 
Madison  and  General  Washington,  my  approbations  and 
objections.”  *  What  those  approbations  and  objections 
were  appears  by  the  following  citations,  which  are  impor¬ 
tant  to  be  kept  in  mind  as  illustrating  his  after  conduct. 

“I  approved,  from  the  first  moment,  of  the  great  mass  of 
what  is  in  the  new  constitution,  the  consolidation  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment,  the  organization  into  executive,  legislative  and  ju¬ 
diciary;  the  subdivision  of  the  legislature,  the  happy  com¬ 
promise  of  the  interests  between  the  great  and  little  States, 
by  the  different  manner  of  voting  in  the  different  Houses, 
the  voting  by  persons  instead  of  States,  the  qualified  nega¬ 
tive  on  laws  given  to  the  executive,  which,  however,  I  should 
have  liked  better  if  associated  with  the  judiciary  also,  as  in 
New  York,  and  the  power  of  taxation :  what  I  disapproved, 
from  the  first  moment,  was  the  want  of  a  bill  of  rights  to 
guard  liberty  against  the  legislative  as  well  as  against  the 
executive  branches  of  the  government;  that  is  to  say,  to 
secure  freedom  of  religion,  freedom  of  the  press,  freedom 
from  monopolies,  freedom  from  unlawful  imprisonment,  free¬ 
dom  from  a  permanent  military,  and  a  trial  by  jury  in  all 
cases  determinable  by  the  laws  of  the  land.” 

What  he  greatly  objected  to  was  the  perpetual  re-eligibil¬ 
ity  of  the  President.  “This,  I  fear,”  said  he,  “will  make 
that  an  office  for  life,  first,  and  then  hereditary.  I  was 
much  an  enemy  to  monarchies  before  I  came  to  Europe,  and 
am  ten  thousand  times  more  so  since  I  have  seen  what  they 
are.  There  is  scarcely  an  evil  known  in  these  countries 
which  may  not  be  traced  to  their  king  as  its  source,  nor  a 
good  which  is  not  derived  fom  the  small  fibers  of  republican- 


*  Autobiography,  Works,  i.  79. 


Clfe  of  U/as^ir>^top 


149 


ism  existing  among  them.  I  can  further  say,  with  safety, 
there  is  not  a  crowned  head  in  Europe  whose  talents  or  mer¬ 
its  would  entitle  him  to  be  elected  a  vestryman  by  the  people 
of  any  parish  in  America.”  * 

In  short,  such  a  horror  had  he  imbibed  of  kingly  rule  that, 
in  a  familiar  letter  to  Colonel  Humphreys,  who  had  been  his 
secretary  of  legation,  he  gives  it  as  the  duty  of  our  young 
Republic  “to  besiege  the  throne  of  heaven  with  eternal 
prayers  to  extirpate  from  creation  this  class  of  human  lions, 
tigers  and  mammoths,  called  kings,  from  whom,  let  him 
perish  who  does  not  say,  ‘Good  Lord,  deliver  us!’  ” 

Jefferson’s  political  fervor  occasionally  tended  to  exalta¬ 
tion,  but  it  was  genuine.  In  his  excited  state  he  regarded 
with  quick  suspicion  everything  in  his  own  country  that  ap¬ 
peared  to  him  to  have  a  regal  tendency.  His  sensitiveness 
had  been  awakened  by  the  debates  in  Congress  as  to  the  title 
to  be  given  to  the  President,  whether  or  not  he  should  be 
addressed  as  His  Highness;  and  had  been  relieved  by  the 
decision  that  he  was  to  have  no  title  but  that  of  office;  viz., 
President  of  the  United  States.  “I  hope,”  said  Jefferson, 
“the  terms  of  Excellency,  Honor,  Worship,  Esquire,  forever 
disappear  from  among  us  from  that  moment.  I  wish  that 
of  Mr.  would  follow  them.”  f 

W  ith  regard  to  the  re-eligibility  of  the  President,  his  anx¬ 
iety  was  quieted  for  the  present  by  the  elevation  of  Washing 
ton  to  the  Presidential  chair.  “Since  the  thing  [re-eligibil¬ 
ity]  is  established,”  writes  he,  “I  would  wish  it  not  to  be 
altered  during  the  lifetime  of  our  great  leader,  whose  execu¬ 
tive  talents  are  superior  to  those,  I  believe,  of  any  man  in 


*  Letter  to  Washington,  May  2,  1788.  Works,  ii.  375. 
t  Letter  to  Mr.  Carmichael,  Works,  iii.  88. 


150 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?i9$tor>  Iruii?$ 


the  world,  and  who,  alone,  by  the  authority  of  his  name, 
and  the  confidence  reposed  in  his  perfect  integrity,  is  fully 
qualified  to  put  the  new  government  so  under  way  as  to 
secure  it  against  the  efforts  of  opposition.  But,  having  de¬ 
rived  from  our  error  all  the  good  there  was  in  it,  I  hope  we 
shall  correct  it  the  moment  we  can  no  longer  have  the  same 
name  at  the  helm.”  * 

Jefferson,  at  the  time  of  which  we  are  speaking,  was,  as 
we  have  shown,  deeply  immersed  in  French  politics  and  in¬ 
terested  in  the  success  of  the  “Patriot  Party,”  in  its  efforts 
to  reform  the  country.  His  dispatches  to  government  all 
proved  how  strongly  he  was  on  the  side  of  the  people.  “He 
considered  a  successful  reformation  in  France  as  insuring  a 
general  reformation  throughout  Europe,  and  the  resurrection 
to  a  new  life  of  their  people,  now  ground  to  dust  by  the 
abuses  of  the  governing  powers.” 

Gouverneur  Morris,  who  was  at  that  time  in  Paris  on 

t 

private  business,  gives  a  different  view  of  the  state  of  things 
produced  by  the  Patriot  party.  Morris  had  arrived  in  Paris 
on  3d  of  February,  1789,  furnished  by  Washington  with  let¬ 
ters  of  introduction  to  persons  in  England,  France  and  Hol¬ 
land.  His  brilliant  talents,  ready  conversational  powers, 
easy  confidence  in  society,  and  striking  aristocratical  appear¬ 
ance,  had  given  him  great  currency,  especially  in  the  court 
party  and  among  the  ancient  nobility ;  in  which  direction  his 
tastes  most  inclined.  He  had  renewed  his  intimacy  with 
Lafayette,  whom  he  found  “full  of  politics,”  but  “too  re¬ 
publican  for  the  genius  of  his  country.” 

In  a  letter  to  the  French  minister,  residing  in  New  York, 
Morris  writes  on  the  23d  of  February,  1789:  “Your  nation 


*  Letter  to  F.  Hopkinson,  Works,  ii.  587. 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii}<$toi) 


151 


is  now  in  a  most  important  crisis,  and  the  great  question — 
shall  we  hereafter  have  a  constitution,  or  shall  will  continue 
to  be  law — employs  every  mind  and  agitates  every  heart  in 
France.  Even  voluptuousness  itself  rises  from  its  couch  of 
roses  and  looks  anxiously  abroad  at  the  busy  scene  to  which 
nothing  can  now  be  indifferent. 

“Your  nobles,  your  clergy,  your  people  are  all  in  motion 
for  the  elections.  A  spirit  which  had  been  dormant  for  gen  • 
erations  starts  up  and  stares  about,  ignorant  of  the  means  of 
obtaining,  but  ardently  desirous  to  possess  its  object — conse¬ 
quently  active,  energetic,  easily  led,  but  also  easily,  too  easily, 
misled.  Such  is  the  instinctive  love  of  freedom  which  now 
grows  warm  in  the  bosom  of  your  count ry.” 

When  the  king  was  constrained  by  the  popular  voice  to 
convene  the  States  General  at  Versailles  for  the  purpose 
of  discussing  measures  of  reform,  Jefferson  was  a  constant 
attendant  upon  the  debates  of  that  body.  “I  was  much 
acquainted  with  the  leading  patriots  of  the  Assembly,” 
writes  he,  “being  from  a  country  which  had  successfully 
passed  through  similar  reform;  they  were  disposed  to  my 
acquaintance  and  had  some  confidence  in  me.  I  urged  most 
strenuously  an  immediate  compromise  to  secure  what  the 
government  was  now  ready  to  yield,  and  trust  to  future 
occasions  for  what  might  still  be  wanting.” 

The  “leading  patriots”  here  spoken  of  were  chiefly  the 
deputies  from  Brittany,  who,  with  others,  formed  an  asso¬ 
ciation  called  the  Breton  Club,  to  watch  the  matters  debated 
in  Parliament  and  shape  the  course  of  affairs. 

Morris,  speaking  of  Jefferson  at  this  juncture,  observes, 
“He  and  I  differ  in  our  system  of  politics.  He,  with  all  the 
leaders  of  liberty  here,  is  desirous  of  annihilating  distinc¬ 
tions  of  order.  How  far  such  views  may  be  right,  respect- 


152 


U/orl^s  of  U/asI?ii}$toi?  Iruii)$ 


ing  mankind  in  general,  is,  I  think,  extremely  problematical. 
But,  with  respect  to  this  nation,  I  am  sure  it  is  wrong  and 
cannot  eventuate  well.”  * 

Jefferson,  in  a  letter  to  Thomas  Paine  (July  11),  giving 
some  account  of  the  proceedings  of  the  States  General,  ob¬ 
serves,  “The  National  Assembly  (for  that  is  the  name  they 
take)  having  shown,  through  every  stage  of  these  transac¬ 
tions,  a  coolness,  wisdom  and  resolution  to  set  fire  to  the 
four  corners  of  the  kingdom,  and  to  perish  with  it  them¬ 
selves  rather  than  to  relinquish  an  iota  from  their  plan  of 
a  total  change  of  government,  are  now  in  complete  and  un¬ 
disputed  possession  of  the  Sovereignty.  The  executive  and 
aristocracy  are  at  their  feet;  the  mass  of  the  nation,  the 
mass  of  the  clergy,  and  the  army  are  with  them ;  they  have 
prostrated  the  old  government  and  are  now  beginning  to 
build  one  from  the  foundation.” 

It  was  but  three  days  after  the  date  of  this  letter  that 
the  people  of  Paris  rose  in  their  might,  plundered  the  arsenal 
of  the  Invalides,  furnished  themselves  with  arms,  stormed 
the  Bastile;  and  a  national  guard,  formed  of  the  Bour¬ 
geoisie,  with  the  tricolored  cockade  for  an  emblem  and  La¬ 
fayette  as  commander,  took  Paris  under  its  protection. 

Information  of  these  events  was  given  at  midnight  to  the 
king  at  Versailles  by  Rochefoucauld-Liancourt.  “It  is  a 
revolt,”  exclaimed  the  king.  “Sire,”  replied  Liancourt, 
liit  is  a  revolution /” 

Jefferson,  in  his  dispatches  to  government,  spoke  with 
admiration  of  the  conduct  of  the  people  throughout  the  vio¬ 
lent  scenes  which  accompanied  this  popular  convulsion. 
‘There  was  a  severity  of  honesty  observed,  of  which  no 


*  Life  of  G.  Morris,  i.  313. 


Cife  of  U/asl?ir}$tor) 


153 


example  has  been  known.  Bags  of  money,  offered  on  vari¬ 
ous  occasions  through  fear  or  guilt,  have  been  uniformly 
refused  by  the  mobs.  The  churches  are  now  occupied  in 
singing  ‘De  Profundis’  and  ‘Requiems’  for  the  repose  of  the 
souls  of  the  brave  and  valiant  citizens  who  have  sealed,  with 
their  blood,  the  liberty  of  the  nation.  ...  We  cannot  sup¬ 
pose  this  paroxysm  confined  to  Paris  alone ;  the  whole  coun¬ 
try  must  pass  successfully  through  it,  and  happy  if  they  get 
through  as  soon  and  as  well  as  Paris  has  done..”  * 

Gouverneur  Morris,  writing  on  the  same  subject  to  Wash¬ 
ington,  on  the  31st  of  July,  observes:  “You  may  consider 
the  Revolution  as  complete.  The  authority  of  the  king  and 
of  the  nobility  is  completely  subdued ;  yet  I  tremble  for  the 
constitution.  They  have  all  the  romantic  spirit  and  all  the 
romantic  ideas  of  government,  which,  happily  for  America, 
we  were  cured  of  before  it  was  too  late.” 

The  foregoing  brief  notices  of  affairs  in  revolutionary 
France,  and  of  the  feelings  with  which  they  were  viewed 
by  American  statesmen  resident  there,  will  be  found  of  ser¬ 
vice  in  illustrating  subsequent  events  in  the  United  States. 

The  first  news  of  the  Revolution  reached  America  in 
October,  and  was  hailed  by  the  great  mass  of  the  people 
with  enthusiasm.  Washington,  in  reply  to  his  old  comrade 
in  arms,  the  Count  de  Rochambeau,  observes:  “I  am  per¬ 
suaded  I  express  the  sentiments  of  my  fellow-citizens  when 
I  offer  an  earnest  prayer  that  it  may  terminate  in  the  perma¬ 
nent  honor  and  happiness  of  your  government  and  people.” 

But,  in  a  reply  of  the  same  date  (13th  Oct.)  to  Gouver¬ 
neur  Morris,  he  shows  that  his  circumspect  and  cautious 
spirit  was  not  to  be  hurried  away  by  popular  excitement. 


* 


Letter  to  John  Jay.  Jefferson’s  Works,  iii.  80. 


154 


U/or^s  of  U/asl?ir)$tor}  Iruir}<$ 


“The  revolution  which  has  been  effected  in  France,’ *  writes 
he,  “is  of  so  wonderful  a  nature  that  the  mind  can  hardly 
realize  the  fact.  If  it  ends  as  our  last  accounts  to  the  1st 
of  August  predict,  that  nation  will  be  the  most  powerful 
and  happy  in  Europe ;  but  I  fear,  though  it  has  gone  tri¬ 
umphantly  through  the  first  paroxysm,  it  is  not  the  last 
it  has  to  encounter  before  matters  are  finally  settled.  In  a 
word,  the  revolution  is  of  too  great  a  magnitude  to  be  effected 
in  so  short  a  space,  and  with  the  loss  of  so  little  blood.  The 
mortification  of  the  king,  the  intrigues  of  the  queen,  and  the 
discontent  of  the  princes  and  noblesse,  will  foment  divisions, 
if  possible,  in  the  National  Assembly;  and  they  will,  unques¬ 
tionably,  avail  themselves  of  every  faux  pas  in  the  forma¬ 
tion  of  the  constitution,  if  they  do  not  give  a  more  open, 
active  opposition.  In  addition  to  these,  the  licentiousness 
of  the  people  on  one  hand,  and  sanguinary  punishments  on 
the  other,  will  alarm  the  best  disposed  friends  to  the  meas¬ 
ure,  and  contribute  not  a  little  to  the  overthrow  of  their 
object.  Great  temperance,  firmness  and  foresight  are  neces¬ 
sary  in  the  movements  of  that  body.  To  forbear  running 
from  one  extreme  to  another  is  no  easy  matter :  and  should 
this  be  the  case,  rocks  and  shelves,  not  visible  at  present, 
may  wreck  the  vessel  and  give  a  higher-toned  despotism  than 
the  one  which  existed  before.”  * 

Hamilton,  too,  regarded  the  recent  events  in  France  with 
a  mixture  of  pleasure  and  apprehension.  In  a  letter  to  La¬ 
fayette  he  writes :  “As  a  friend  to  mankind  and  to  liberty, 
I  rejoice  in  the  efforts  which  you  are  making  to  establish  it, 
while  I  fear  much  for  the  final  success  of  the  attempts,  for 
the  fate  of  those  who  are  engaged  in  it,  and  for  the  danger 


514  Writings  of  Washington,  x.  39. 


Cife  of  U/a8l?ir?<$tor) 


i55 


in  case  of  success,  of  innovations  greater  than  will  consist 

t 

with  the  real  felicity  of  your  nation.  ...  I  dread  disagree¬ 
ments,  among  those  who  are  now  united,  about  the  nature 
of  your  constitution ;  I  dread  the  vehement  character  of  your 
people,  whom,  I  fear,  you  may  find  it  more  easy  to  bring 
on,  than  to  keep  within  proper  bounds  after  you  have  put 
them  in  motion.  I  dread  the  interested  refractoriness  of 
your  nobles,  who  cannot  all  be  gratified,  and  who  may  be 
unwilling  to  submit  to  the  requisite  sacrifices.  And  I  dread 
the  reveries  of  your  philosophic  politicians,  who  appear  in 
the  moment  to  have  great  influence,  and  who,  being  mere 
speculatists,  may  aim  at  more  refinement  than  suits  either 
with  human  nature  or  the  composition  of  your  nation.” *  * 
The  opposite  views  and  feelings  of  Hamilton  and  Jeffer¬ 
son,  with  regard  to  the  French  revolution,  are  the  more 
interesting,  as  these  eminent  statesmen  were  soon  to  be 
brought  face  to  face  in  the  cabinet,  the  policy  of  which  would 
be  greatly  influenced  by  French  affairs;  for  it  was  at  this 
time  that  Washington  wrote  to  Jefferson,  offering  him  the 
situation  of  Secretary  of  State,  but  forbearing  to  nominate 
a  successor  to  his  post  at  the  Court  of  Versailles,  until  he 
should  be  informed  of  his  determination. 


*  Hamilton’s  Works,  v.  440. 


are*— 


156 


U/orks  of  U/a8^ir)<$tor>  Iruip$ 


CHAPTER  SIX  * 

Washington’s  Journey  through  the  Eastern  States— John  Hancock 
— Clashing  between  the  Civil  and  Municipal  Authorities  on  the 
President’s  Entry  into  Boston — A  Contest  of  Etiquette — Wash-  ' 
ington’s  Account  of  his  Entry — His  Reception — A  new  Punc¬ 
tilio-Address  of  the  Cincinnati  Society — Return  to  New  York 

At  the  time  of  writing  the  letter  to  Jefferson,  offering 
him  the  Department  of  State,  Washington  was  on  the  eve 
of  a  journey  through  the  Eastern  States,  with  a  view,  as 
he  said,  to  observe  the  situation  of  the  country,  and  with 
a  hope  of  perfectly  re-establishing  his  health,  which  a  series 
of  indispositions  had  much  impaired.  Having  made  all  his 
arrangements,  and  left  the  papers  appertaining  to  the  office 
of  Foreign  Affairs  under  the  temporary  superintendence 
of  Mr.  Jay,  he  set  out  from  New  York  on  the  15th  of  Oc¬ 
tober,  traveling  in  his  carriage  with  four  horses,  and  accom¬ 
panied  by  his  official  secretary,  Major  Jackson,  and  his 
private  secretary,  Mr.  Lear.  Though  averse  from  public 
parade,  he  could  not  but  be  deeply  affected  and  gratified 
at  every  step  by  the  manifestations  of  a  people’s  love. 
Wherever  he  came,  all  labor  was  suspended;  business 
neglected.  The  bells  were  rung,  the  guns  were  fired ;  there 
were  civic  processions  and  military  parades  and  triumphal 
arches,  and  all  classes  poured  forth  to  testify,  in  every  pos¬ 
sible  manner,  their  gratitude  and  affection  for  the  man 
whom  they  hailed  as  the  Father  of  his  country;  and  well 
did  his  noble  stature,  his  dignified  demeanor,  his  matured 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii}$toi)  157 

m 

years,  and  his  benevolent  aspect,  suit  that  venerable  appel¬ 
lation. 

On  the  2 2d,  just  after  entering  Massachusetts,  he  was 
met  by  an  express  from  the  Governor  of  the  State  (the  Hon. 
John  Hancock),  inviting  him  to  make  his  quarters  at  his 
house  while  he  should  remain  in  Boston,  and  announcing 
to  him  that  he  had  issued  orders  for  proper  escorts  to  attend 
him,  and  that  the  troops  with  the  gentlemen  of  the  Council 
would  receive  him  at  Cambridge  and  wait  on  him  to  town. 

"Washington,  in  a  courteous  reply,  declined  the  Gov¬ 
ernor’s  invitation  to  his  residence,  having  resolved,  he  said, 
on  leaving  New  York,  to  accept  of  no  invitations  of  the 
kind  while  on  his  journey,  through  an  unwillingness  to  give 
trouble  to  private  families.  He  had  accordingly  instructed 
a  friend  to  engage  lodgings  for  him  during  his  stay  in  Bos¬ 
ton.  He  was  highly  sensible,  he  observed,  of  the  honors 
intended  him ;  but,  could  his  wishes  prevail,  he  would  desire 
to  visit  the  metropolis  without  any  parade  or  extraordinary 
ceremony.  It  was  never  Washington’s  good  fortune,  on 
occasions  of  the  kind,  to  have  his  modest  inclinations  con¬ 
sulted;  in  the  present  instance  they  were  little  in  accord 
with  the  habits  and  notions  of  the  Governor,  who,  accus¬ 
tomed  to  fill  public  stations  and  preside  at  public  assem¬ 
blies,  which  he  did  with  the  punctilio  of  the  old  school,  was 
strictly  observant  of  everything  appertaining  to  official  rank 
and  dignity.  Governor  Hancock  was  now  about  fifty -two 
years  of  age,  tall  and  thin,  of  a  commanding  deportment 
and  graceful  manner,  though  stooping  a  little  and  much 
afflicted  with  the  gout.  He  was  really  hospitable,  which 
his  ample  wealth  enabled  him  to  be,  and  was  no  doubt 
desirous  of  having  Washington  as  a  guest  under  his  roof, 
but  resolved,  at  all  events,  to  give  him  a  signal  reception 


158 


U/orl{8  of  U/asl?rt)$toi)  Iruip^ 


as  the  guest  of  the  State  over  which  he  presided.  Now  it 
so  happened  that  the  “selectmen,”  or  municipal  authorities 
of  Boston,  had  also  made  arrangements  for  receiving  the 
President  in  their  civic  domain,  and  in  so  doing  had  pro¬ 
ceeded  without  consulting  the  Governor ;  as  might  have  been 
expected,  some  clashing  of  rival  plans  was  the  result. 

In  pursuance  of  the  Governor’s  arrangement,  the  militia, 
with  General  Brooks  at  their  head,  and  Mr.  Samuel  Adams, 
the  Lieutenant-governor,  at  the  head  of  the  Executive  Coun¬ 
cil,  met  Washington  at  Cambridge,  and  escorted  him  with 
great  ceremony  to  town.  Being  arrived  at  the  grand  en¬ 
trance,  which  is  over  what  is  called  “The  Neck,”  the  Lieu¬ 
tenant-governor  and  the  Executive  Council  were  brought 
to  a  sudden  halt  by  observing  the  municipal  authorities 
drawn  up  in  their  carriage,  in  formal  array,  to  pay  civic 
honors  to  the  city’s  guest.  Here  ensued  a  great  question 
of  etiquette.  The  Executive  Council  insisted  on  the  right 
of  the  Governor,  as  chief  of  the  State,  to  receive  and  wel¬ 
come  its  guest,  at  the  entrance  of  its  capital.  “He  should 
have  met  him  at  the  boundary  of  the  State  over  which  he 
presides,”  replied  the  others;  “and  there  have  welcomed 
him  to  the  hospitalities  of  the  commonwealth.  When  the 
President  is  about  to  enter  the  town ,  it  is  the  delegated 
right  of  the  municipal  authorities  thereof  to  receive  and 
bid  him  welcome.” 

The  contending  parties  remained  drawn  up  resolutely 
in  their  carriages,  while  aides-de-camp  and  marshals  were 
posting  to  and  fro  between  them,  carrying  on  a  kind  of 
diplomatic  parley. 

In  the  meantime  the  President,  and  Major  Jackson,  his 
secretary,  had  mounted  on  horseback,  and  were  waiting  on 
the  Neck  to  be  conducted  into  the  town.  The  day  was  un- 


Cife  of  U/as^ip^top 


159 


usually  cold  and  murky.  "Washington  became  chilled  and 
impatient,  and  when  informed  of  the  cause  of  the  detention, 
“Is  there  no  other  avenue  into  the  town?”  demanded  he  of 
Major  Jackson.  He  was,  in  fact,  on  the  point  of  wheeling 
about,  when  word  was  brought  that  the  controversy  was 
over,  and  that  he  would  be  received  by  the  municipal  au¬ 
thorities. 

We  give  his  own  account  of  the  succeeding  part  of  the 
ceremony.  “At  the  entrance,  I  was  welcomed  by  the  select¬ 
men  in  a  body.  Then  following  the  Lieutenant-governor 
and  Council  in  the  order  we  came  from  Cambridge  (preceded 
by  the  town  corps,  very  handsomely  dressed),  we  passed 
through  the  citizens,  classed  in  their  different  professions, 
and  under  their  own  banners,  till  we  came  to  the  State 
House.” 

The  streets,  the  doors,  the  windows,  the  housetops  were 
crowded  with  well-dressed  people  of  both  sexes.  “He  was 
on  horseback,”  says  an  observer,  “dressed  in  his  old  Conti¬ 
nental  uniform,  with  his  hat  off.  He  did  not  bow  to  the 
spectators  as  he  passed,  but  sat  on  his  horse  with  a  calm, 
dignified  air.  He  dismounted  at  the  old  State  House,  now 
City  Hall,*  and  came  out  on  a  temporary  balcony  at  the 
west  end ;  a  long  procession  passed  before  him,  whose  saluta¬ 
tions  he  occasionally  returned.  These  and  other  ceremonials 
being  over,  the  Lieutenant-governor  and  Council,  accom¬ 
panied  by  the  Vice-President,  conducted  W  ashington  to  his 
lodgings,  where  they  took  leave  of  him.”  And  now  he  is 
doomed  to  the  annoyance  of  a  new  question  of  etiquette. 
He  had  previously  accepted  the  invitation  of  Governor  Han¬ 
cock  to  an  informal  dinner,  but  had  expected  that  that  func- 


*  This  was  written  some  years  ago. 


160 


tt/or^s  of  U/a8l?ir}$toi}  Iruir)$ 


tionary  would  wait  upon  him  as  soon  as  he  should  arrive; 
instead  of  which  he  received  a  message  from  him,  pleading 
that  he  was  too  much  indisposed  to  do  so.  Washington  dis¬ 
trusted  the  sincerity  of  the  apology.  He  had  been  given 
to  understand  that  the  Governor  wished  to  evade  paying 
the  first  visit,  conceiving  that,  as  Governor  of  a  State,  and 
within  the  bounds  of  that  State,  the  point  of  etiquette  made 
it  proper  that  he  should  receive  the  first  visit,  even  from 
the  President  of  the  United  States.  Washington  determined 
to  resist  this  pretension;  he  therefore  excused  himself  from 
the  informal  dinner,  and  dined  at  his  lodgings,  where  the 
Vice-President  favored  him  with  his  company. 

The  next  day  the  Governor,  on  consultation  with  his 
friends,  was  persuaded  to  waive  the  point  of  etiquette,  and 
sent  “his  best  respects  to  the  President,”  informing  him 
that,  if  at  home  and  at  leisure,  he  would  do  himself  the 
honor  to  visit  him  in  half  an  hour,  intimating  that  he  would 
have  done  it  sooner  had  his  health  permitted,  and  that  it  was 
not  without  hazard  to  his  health  that  he  did  it  now. 

The  following  was  Washington’s  reply,  the  last  sentence 
of  which  almost  savors  of  irony : 

“Sunday,  26th  October,  1  o’clock. 

« 

“The  President  of  the  United  States  presents  his  best 
respects  to  the  Governor,  and  has  the  honor  to  inform  him 
that  he  shall  be  home  till  two  o’clock. 

“The  President  need  not  express  the  pleasure  it  will  give 
him  to  see  the  Governor;  but  at  the  same  time,  he  most 
earnestly  begs  that  the  Governor  will  not  hazard  his  health 
on  the  occasion.” 

From  Washington’s  diary  we  find  that  the  Governor 
found  strength  to  pay  the  litigated  visit  within  the  specified 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii)$toi) 


161 


time — though,  according  to  one  authority,  he  went  enveloped 
in  red  baize,  and  was  borne  in  the  arms  of  servants  into  the 
house.* 

It  does  not  appear  that  any  harm  resulted  from  the  hazard 
to  which  the  Governor  exposed  himself.  At  all  events  the 
hydra  etiquette  was  silenced,  and  everything  went  on  pleas¬ 
antly  and  decorously  throughout  the  remainder  of  Washing¬ 
ton’s  sojourn  in  Boston. 

Various  addresses  were  made  to  him  in  the  course  of  his 
visit,  but  none  that  reached  his  heart  more  directly  than 
that  of  his  old  companions  in  arms,  the  Cincinnati  Society 
of  Massachusetts,  who  hailed  him  as  “their  glorious  leader 
in  war,  their  illustrious  example  in  peace.” 

“Dear,  indeed,”  said  he,  in  reply,  “is  the  occasion  which 
restores  an  intercourse  with  my  associates  in  prosperous  and 
adverse  fortune;  and  enhanced  are  the  triumphs  of  peace 
participated  with  those  whose  virtue  and  valor  so  largely 
contributed  to  procure  them.  To  that  virtue  and  valor  your 
country  has  confessed  her  obligations.  Be  mine  the  grateful 
task  to  add  to  the  testimony  of  a  connection  which  it  was 
my  pride  to  own  in  the  field,  and  is  now  my  happiness  to 
acknowledge  in  the  enjoyments  of  peace  and  freedom.” 

After  remaining  in  Boston  for  a  week,  feted  in  the  most 
hospitable  manner,  he  appointed  eight  o’clock,  on  Thursday 
the  29th,  for  his  departure.  The  appointed  time  arrived, 
but  not  the  escort;  whereupon,  punctual  himself,  and  fear¬ 
ing,  perhaps,  to  be  detained  by  some  new  question  of  eti¬ 
quette,  he  departed  without  them,  and  was  overtaken  by 
them  on  the  road. 

His  journey  eastward  terminated  at  Portsmouth,  whence 


*  Sullivan’s  Letters  on  Public  Characters,  p.  15. 


162 


U/orl{8  of  U/asbip^toi)  Irufi}$ 


he  turned  his  face  homeward  by  a  middle  route  through  the 
interior  of  the  country  to  Hartford,  and  thence  to  New  York, 
where  he  arrived  between  two  and  three  o’clock  on  the  13th 
of  November. 


CHAPTER  SEVEN 

Col.  John  Trumbull — Message  to  Washington  from  Lafayette — Jef¬ 
ferson’s  Embarkation  for  America — Washington  forwards  his 
Commission  as  Secretary  of  State — His  Acceptance 

Not  long  after  Washington’s  return  from  his  Eastern 
tour,  Colonel  John  Trumbull,  his  aid-de-camp  in  former 
days,  now  a  historical  painter  of  eminence,  arrived  from 
Europe,  where  he  had  been  successfully  prosecuting  his 
art  and  preparing  for  his  grand  pictures,  illustrative  of  our 
Revolutionary  history.  At  Mr.  Jefferson’s  house  in  Paris 
he  had  been  enabled  to  sketch  from  life  the  portraits  of 
several  of  the  French  officers  who  had  been  present  at  the 
capture  of  Cornwallis,  and  were  now  among  the  popular 
agitators  of  France.  He  had  renewed  his  military  acquaint¬ 
ance  with  Lafayette ;  witnessed  the  outbreak  of  the  revolu¬ 
tion  ;  the  storming  of  the  Bastile ;  and  attended  the  marquis 
on  one  occasion,  when  the  latter  succeeded  in  calming  the 
riotous  excesses  of  a  mob,  principally  workmen,  in  the  Fau« 
bourg  St.  Antoine. 

Trumbull  brought  an  especial  message  from  Lafayette. 
The  marquis  had  been  anxious  that  Washington  should  know 
the  state  of  affairs  in  France,  and  the  progress  and  prospects 
of  the  momentous  cause  in  which  he  was  engaged ;  but,  in 
the  hurry  of  occupation,  had  not  time  to  write  with  the  nec¬ 
essary  detail ;  finding,  however,  that  Trumbull  was  soon  to 


Cife  of  U/asl?ir}$toi} 


163 


depart  for  the  United  States,  he  invited  him  to  breakfast 

i 

with  him  at  an  early  hour  and  alone,  for  the  express  purpose 
of  explaining  matters  to  him  frankly  and  fully,  to  be  com¬ 
municated  by  him  to  Washington,  immediately  on  his  arrival 
in  America. 

We  give  the  colonel’s  report  of  Lafayette’s  conversation, 
as  he  has  recorded  it  in  his  autobiography. 

“You  have  witnessed  the  surface  of  things,”  said  the 
marquis;  “it  is  for  me  to  explain  the  interior.  The  object 
which  is  aimed  at  by  the  Duke  de  Rochefoucauld,  M.  Con- 
dorset,  myself  and  some  others,  who  consider  ourselves 
leaders,  is  to  obtain  for  France  a  constitution  nearly  resem¬ 
bling  that  of  England,  which  we  regard  as  the  most  perfect 
model  of  government  hitherto  known.  To  accomplish  this, 
it  is  necessary  to  diminish,  very  essentially,  the  power  of  the 
king;  but  our  object  is  to  retain  the  throne,  in  great  majesty, 
as  the  first  branch  of  the  legislative  power,  but  retrenching 
its  executive  power  in  one  point,  which,  though  very  impor¬ 
tant  in  the  British  crown,  we  think  is  needless  here.  The 
peerage  of  France  is  already  so  numerous  that  we  would 
take  from  our  king  the  right  of  creating  new  peers,  except 
in  cases  where  old  families  might  become  extinct.  To  all 
this  the  king  (who  is  one  of  the  best  of  men,  and  sincerely 
desirous  for  the  happiness  of  his  people)  most  freely  and 
cordially  consents. 

“We  wish  a  House  of  Peers  with  powers  of  legislation 
similar  to  that  of  England,  restricted  in  number  to  one  hun¬ 
dred  members,  to  be  elected  by  the  whole  body  from  among 
themselves,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  Scotch  peers  are  in 
the  British  parliament.  ...  We  wish,  as  the  third  branch 
of  the  legislative  body,  a  House  of  Representatives,  chosen 
by  the  great  body  of  the  people  from  among  themselves, 


164 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?ir)$toi)  Iruir><$ 


by  such  a  ratio  as  shall  not  make  the  House  too  numerous; 
and  this  branch  of  our  project  meets  unanimous  applause. 
.  .  .  Unhappily,  there  is  one  powerful  and  wicked  man, 
who,  I  fear,  will  destroy  this  beautiful  fabric  of  human 
happiness — the  Duke  of  Orleans.  He  does  not,  indeed, 
possess  talent  to  carry  into  execution  a  great  project,  but 
he  possesses  immense  wealth,  and  France  abounds  in  market¬ 
able  talents.  Every  city  and  town  has  young  men  eminent 
for  abilities,  particularly  in  the  law— ardent  in  character, 
eloquent,  ambitious  of  distinction,  but  poor.  These  are  the 
instruments  which  the  duke  may  command  by  money,  and 
they  will  do  his  bidding.  His  hatred  of  the  royal  family 
can  be  satiated  only  by  their  ruin;  his  ambition,  probably, 
leads  him  to  aspire  to  the  throne. 

“You  saw  the  other  day,  in  the  mob,  men  who  were 
called  les  Marseillois ,  les  patriots  par  excellence.  You 
saw  them  particularly  active  and  audacious  in  stimulating 
the  discontented  artisans  and  laborers,  who  composed  the 
great  mass  of  the  mob,  to  acts  of  violence  and  ferocity; 
these  men  are,  in  truth,  desperadoes,  assassins  from  the 
south  of  France,  familiar  with  murder,  robbery  and  every 
atrocious  crime,  who  have  been  brought  up  to  Paris  by  the 
money  of  the  duke,  for  the  very  purpose  in  which  you  saw 
them  employed,  of  mingling  in  all  mobs  and  exciting  the 
passions  of  the  people  to  frenzy. 

“This  is  the  first  act  of  the  drama.  The  second  will  be 
to  influence  the  elections,  to  fill  the  approaching  Assembly 
with  ardent,  inexperienced,  desperate,  ambitious  young  men, 
who,  instead  of  proceeding  to  discuss  calmly  the  details  of 
the  plan  of  which  I  have  given  you  the  general  outline,  and 
to  carry  it  quietly  into  operation,  will,  under  disguise  of  zeal 
for  the  people,  and  abhorrence  of  the  aristocrats,  drive  every 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii)$tor) 


165 


measure  to  extremity,  for  the  purpose  of  throwing  the  affairs 

t 

of  the  nation  into  utter  confusion,  when  the  master  spirit 
may  accomplish  his  ultimate  purpose.”  * 

Such  was  the  report  of  affairs  in  France  which  Lafayette 
transmitted  by  Trumbull  to  Washington.  It  was  not  long 
after  this  conversation  of  the  colonel  with  the  marquis  that, 
the  sittings  of  the  National  Assembly  being  transferred  from 
Versailles  to  Paris,  the  Breton  club  fixed  itself  on  the  site  of 
the  convent  of  Jacobins;  threw  open  its  doors  to  the  public, 
and  soon,  under  the  appellation  of  the  “Jacobin  Club,”  ex¬ 
ercised  the  baleful  influence  in  public  affairs  which  Lafayette 
apprehended. 

Washington  had  listened  with  profound  attention  to  the 
report  rendered  by  Trumbull.  In  the  course  of  a  subsequent 
conversation  the  latter  informed  him  that  Mr.  Jefferson  had 
embarked  for  America,  and,  it  was  probable,  had  already 
landed  at  Norfolk  in  Virginia.  Washington  immediately 
forwarded  to  him  his  commission  as  Secretary  of  State,  re¬ 
questing  to  know  his  determination  on  the  subject. 

Jefferson,  in  reply,  expressed  himself  flattered  by  the 
nomination,  but  dubious  of  his  being  equal  to  its  extensive 
and  various  duties,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  he  felt  familiar 
with  the  duties  of  his  present  office.  “But  it  is  not  for  an 
individual  to  choose  his  path,”  said  he.  “You  are  to  mar¬ 
shal  us  as  may  best  be  for  the  public  good.  .  .  .  Signify  to 
me,  by  another  line,  your  ultimate  wish,  and  I  shall  conform 
to  it  cordially.  If  it  should  be  to  remain  in  New  York,  my 
chief  comfort  will  be  to  work  under  your  eye ;  my  only  shel¬ 
ter  the  authority  of  your  name  and  the  wisdom  of  measures 
to  be  dictated  by  you  and  implicitly  executed  by  me.”  f 

*  Trumbull’s  Autobiography,  151. 
t  Jefferson’s  Works,  vol.  iii. ,  p.  125. 


166 


U/orKs  of  U/asl?io<$toi)  Irulr>3 


Washington,  in  answer,  informed  him  that  he  considered 
the  successful  administration  of  the  general  government  an 
object  of  almost  infinite  consequence  to  the  present  and  fut¬ 
ure  happiness  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States;  that  he 
regarded  the  office  of  Secretary  for  the  Department  of  State 
very  important,  and  that  he  knew  of  no  person  who,  in  his 
judgment,  could  better  execute  the  duties  of  it  than  himself.* 
Jefferson  accordingly  accepted  the  nomination,  but  ob¬ 
served  that  the  matters  which  had  called  him  home  would 
probably  prevent  his  setting  out  for  New  York  before  the 
month  of  March. 


CHAPTER  EIGHT 

Reassembling  of  Congress — Financial  Condition  of  the  Country — Its 
Debt  at  Home  and  Abroad — Debts  of  the  States — Hamilton’s 
Report — Opposition  to  it — Dr.  Stuart’s  warning  Letter  to  Wash¬ 
ington — His  Reply — Jefferson’s  arrival  at  the  Seat  of  Gov¬ 
ernment — New  York  at  that  Period — Jefferson  apprehends 
Monarchial  Designs 

Congress  reassembled  on  the  4th  of  January  (1790),  but 
a  quorum  of  the  two  Houses  was  not  present  until  the  8th, 
when  the  session  was  opened  by  Washington  in  form,  with 
an  address  delivered  before  them  in  the  Senate  chamber,  f 


*  Washington’s  Writings,  x.  77. 

t  As  the  degree  of  state  with  which  the  session  was  opened 
was  subsequently  a  matter  of  comment,  we  extract  from 
Washington’s  diary  his  own  account  of  it,  premising  that 
the  regulations  were  devised  by  General  Knox  and  Colonel 
Humphreys. 

“Friday,  8th,  according  to  appointment,  at  eleven  o’clock, 
I  set  out  for  the  City  Hall  on  my  coach,  preceded  by  Colonel 
Humphreys  and  Major  Jackson  in  uniform  (on  my  two  white 
horses),  and  followed  by  Messrs.  Lear  and  Nelson  in  my 
chariot,  and  Mr.  Lewis,  on  horseback,  following  them.  In 


Cife  of  U/asl?iQ$toi? 


167 


Among  the  most  important  objects  suggested  in  the  ad¬ 
dress  for  the  deliberation  of  Congress  were  provisions  for  na¬ 
tional  defense;  provisions  for  facilitating  intercourse  with 
foreign  nations,  and  defraying  the  expenses  of  diplomatic 
agents ;  laws  for  the  naturalization  of  foreigners ;  uniformity 
in  the  currency,  weights,  and  measures  of  the  United  States; 
facilities  for  the  advancement  of  commerce,  agriculture,  and 
manufactures;  attention  to  the  post-office  and  post-roads; 
measures  for  the  promotion  of  science  and  literature,  and  for 
the  support  of  public  credit. 

This  last  object  was  the  one  which  Washington  had  more 
immediately  at  heart.  The  government  was  now  organized, 
apparently,  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  parties ;  but  its  efficiency 
would  essentially  depend  on  the  success  of  a  measure  which 
Washington  had  pledged  himself  to  institute,  and  which  was 
yet  to  be  tried ;  namely,  a  system  of  finance  adapted  to  re¬ 
vive  the  national  credit  and  place  the  public  debt  in  a  condi¬ 
tion  to  be  paid  off.  The  credit  of  the  country  was  at  a  low 
ebb.  The  confederacy,  by  its  articles,  had  the  power  of  con- 


their  rear  was  the  Chief -justice  of  the  United  States  and 
Secretaries  of  the  Treasury  and  War  Departments  in  their 
respective  carriages  and  in  the  order  they  are  named.  At 
the  outer  door  of  the  Hall,  I  was  met  by  the  doorkeepers  of 
the  Senate  and  House,  and  conducted  to  the  door  of  the  Sen¬ 
ate  chamber,  and  passing  from  thence  to  the  chair  through 
the  Senate  on  the  right  and  House  of  Representatives  on  the 
left,  I  took  my  seat.  The  gentlemen  who  attended  me  fol¬ 
lowed  and  took  their  stands  behind  the  Senators ;  the  whole 
rising  as  I  entered.  After  being  seated,  at  which  time  the 
members  of  both  Houses  also  sat,  I  rose  (as  they  also  did), 
and  made  my  speech,  delivering  one  copy  to  the  President  of 
the  Senate  and  another  to  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Rep¬ 
resentatives — after  which,  and  being  a  few  moments  seated, 
I  retired,  bowing  on  each  side  to  the  assembly  (who  stood) 
as  I  passed,  and  descending  to  the  lower  hall  attended  as  be¬ 
fore,  I  returned  with  them  to  my  house.” 


168  U/orks  of  U/a8t?ii}$toi?  Iruir?<$ 

tracting  debts  for  a  national  object,  but  no  control  over  the 
means  of  payment.  Thirteen  independent  legislatures  could 
grant  or  withhold  the  means.  The  government  was  then  a 
government  under  governments — the  States  had  more  power 
than  Congress.  At  the  close  of  the  war  the  debt  amounted 
to  forty-two  millions  of  dollars ;  but  so  little  had  the  country 
been  able  to  fulfill  its  engagements,  owing  to  the  want  of  a 
sovereign  legislature  having  the  sole  and  exclusive  power  of 
laying  duties  upon  imports,  and  thus  providing  adequate  re¬ 
sources,  that  the  debt  had  swollen,  through  arrears  of  inter¬ 
est,  to  upward  of  fifty-four  millions.  Of  this  amount  nearly 
eight  millions  were  due  to  France,  between  three  and  four 
millions  to  private  lenders  in  Holland,  and  about  two  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  thousand  in  Spain ;  making,  altogether,  nearly 
twelve  millions  due  abroad.  The  debt  contracted  at  home 
amounted  to  upward  of  forty-two  millions,  and  was  due, 
originally,  to  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Revolutionary  war, 
who  had  risked  their  lives  for  the  cause ;  farmers  who  had 
furnished  supplies  for  the  public  service,  or  whose  property 
had  been  assumed  for  it ;  capitalists  who,  in  critical  periods 
of  the  war,  had  adventured  their  fortunes  in  support  of  their 
country’s  independence.  The  domestic  debt,  therefore,  could 
not  have  had  a  more  sacred  and  patriotic  origin ;  but,  in  th© 
long  delay  of  national  justice,  the  paper  which  represented 
these  outstanding  claims  had  sunk  to  less  than  a  sixth  of  its 
nominal  value,  and  the  larger  portion  of  it  had  been  parted 
with  at  that  depreciated  rate,  either  in  the  course  of  trade, 
or  to  speculative  purchasers,  who  were  willing  to  take  the 
risk  of  eventual  payment,  however  little  their  confidence 
seemed  to  be  warranted,  at  the  time,  by  the  pecuniary  con¬ 
dition  and  prospects  of  the  country. 

The  debt,  when  thus  transferred,  lost  its  commanding 


Cife  of  U/a8l?ii)$tor) 


369 


appeal  to  patriotic  sympathy ;  but  remained  as  obligatory  in 

t 

the  eye  of  justice.  In  public  newspapers,  however,  and  in 
private  circles,  the  propriety  of  a  discrimination  between  the 
assignees  and  the  original  holders  of  the  public  securities  was 
freely  discussed.  Besides  the  foreign  and  domestic  debt  of 
the  Federal  government,  the  States,  individually,  were  in¬ 
volved  in  liabilities  contracted  for  the  common  cause,  to  an 
aggregate  amount  of  about  twenty-five  millions  of  dollars ; 
of  which,  more  than  one-half  was  due  from  three  of  them ; 
Massachusetts  and  South  Carolina  each  owing  more  than 
five  millions,  and  Virginia  more  than  three  and  a  half.  The 
reputation  and  the  well-being  of  the  government  were,  there¬ 
fore,  at  stake  upon  the  issue  of  some  plan  to  retrieve  the 
national  credit,  and  establish  it  upon  a  firm  and  secure 
foundation. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  (Mr.  Hamilton),  it  will  be 
remembered,  had  been  directed  by  Congress  to  prepare  such 
a  plan  during  its  recess.  In  the  one  thus  prepared  he  as¬ 
serted,  what  none  were  disposed  to  question,  the  propriety 
of  paying  the  foreign  debt  according  to  its  terms.  He  as¬ 
serted,  also,  the  equal  validity  of  the  original  claims  of  the 
American  creditors  of  the  government ;  whether  those  credit¬ 
ors  were  the  original  holders  of  its  certificates  or  subsequent 
purchasers  of  them  at  a  depreciated  value.  The  idea  of  any 
distinction  between  them,  which  some  were  inclined  to  ad¬ 
vance,  he  repudiated  as  alike  unjust,  impolitic  and  impracti¬ 
cable.  He  urged,  moreover,  the  assumption,  by  the  general 
government,  of  the  separate  debts  of  the  States,  contracted 
for  the  common  cause,  and  that  a  like  provision  should  be 
made  for  their  payment  as  for  the  payment  of  those  of  the 
Union.  They  were  all  contracted  in  the  struggle  for  na¬ 
tional  independence,  not  for  the  independence  of  any  par- 

Vol.  XV.— ! **  *8 


170 


U/or^s  of  U/a8f?iQ$tor>  Irviq$ 


ticular  part.  No  more  money  would  be  required  for  their 
discharge  as  Federal  than  as  State  debts.  Money  could  be 
raised  more  readily  by  the  Federal  government  than  by  the 
States,  and  all  clashing  and  jealousy  between  State  and  Fed¬ 
eral  debtors  would  thus  be  prevented.  A  reason,  also,  which, 
no  doubt,  had  great  weight  with  him,  though  he  did  not 
bring  it  under  consideration  in  his  report,  for  fear,  probably, 
of  offending  the  jealousy  of  State  sovereignty,  dormant,  but 
not  extinct,  was,  that  it  would  tend  to  unite  the  States  finan¬ 
cially,  as  they  were  united  politically,  and  strengthen  the 
central  government  by  rallying  capitalists  around  it;  sub¬ 
jecting  them  to  its  influence,  and  rendering  them  agents  of 
its  will.  He  recommended,  therefore,  that  the  entire  mass 
of  debt  be  funded ;  the  Union  made  responsible  for  it,  and 
taxes  imposed  for  its  liquidation.  He  suggested,  moreover, 
the  expediency,  for  the  greater  security  of  the  debt  and 
punctuality  in  the  payment  of  interest,  that  the  domestic 
creditors  submit  to  an  abatement  of  accruing  interest. 

The  plan  was  reported  to  the  House  by  Mr.  Hamilton, 
the  14th  of  January,  but  did  not  undergo  consideration  until 
the  8th  of  February,  when  it  was  opposed  with  great  ear¬ 
nestness,  especially  the  point  of  assuming  the  State  debts,  as 
tending  to  consolidation,  as  giving  an  undue  influence  to  the 
general  government,  and  as  being  of  doubtful  constitutional¬ 
ity.  This  financial  union  of  the  States  was  reprobated,  not 
only  on  the  floor  of  Congress,  but  in  different  parts  of  the 
Union,  as  fraught  with  political  evil.  The  Northern  and 
Eastern  States  generally  favored  the  plan,  as  did  also  South 
Carolina,  but  Virginia  manifested  a  determined  opposition. 
The  measure,  however,  passed,  in  Committee  of  the  Whole, 
on  the  9th  of  March,  by  a  vote  of  31  to  26. 

The  funding  of  the  State  debts  was  supposed  to  benefit. 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii)$toi) 


171 


materially,  the  Northern  States,  in  which  was  the  entire 

t 

capital  of  the  country;  yet,  South  Carolina  voted  for  the 
assumption.  The  fact  is,  opinions  were  honestly  divided  on 
the  subject.  The  great  majority  were  aiming  to  do  their 
duty — to  do  what  was  right;  but  their  disagreement  was 
the  result  of  real  difficulties  incident  to  the  intricate  and 
complicated  problem  with  which  they  had  to  deal. 

A  letter  from  Washington’s  monitory  friend,  Dr.  Stuart 
of  Virginia  (dated  March  15th),  spoke  with  alarm  of  the  jeal¬ 
ous  belief  growing  up  in  that  quarter  that  the  Northern  and 
Eastern  States  were  combining  to  pursue  their  own  exclusive 
interests.  Many,  he  observed,  who  had  heretofore  been 
warm  supporters  of  the  government,  were  changing  their 
sentiments,  from  a  conviction  of  the  impracticability  of  union 
with  States  whose  interests  were  so  dissimilar. 

Washington  had  little  sympathy  with  these  sectional 
jealousies;  and  the  noble  language  in  which  he  rebukes 
them  cannot  be  too  largely  cited.  “I  am  sorry,”  he  ob¬ 
serves,  “such  jealousies  as  you  speak  of  should  be  gaining 
ground  and  poisoning  the  minds  of  the  Southern  people ;  but, 
admit  the  fact  which  is  alleged  as  the  cause  of  them,  and 
give  it  full  scope,  does  it  amount  to  more  than  was  known  to 
every  man  of  information  before,  at,  and  since  the  adoption 
of  the  Constitution?  Was  it  not  always  believed  that  there 
are  some  points  which  peculiarly  interest  the  Eastern  States? 
And  did  any  one  who  reads  human  nature,  and  more  espe¬ 
cially  the  character  of  the  eastern  people,  conceive  that  they 
would  not  pursue  them  steadily,  by  a  combination  of  their 
force?  Are  there  not  other  points  which  equally  concern  the 
Southern  States?  If  these  States  are  less  tenacious  of  their 
interest,  or  if,  while  the  Eastern  move  in  a  solid  phalanx  to 
effect  their  views,  the  Southern  are  always  divided,  which 


17  2 


U/orks  of  U/asl?ir)($tor>  Irvir><$ 


of  the  two  is  most  to  be  blamed?  That  there  is  a  diversity 
of  interests  in  the  Union,  none  has  denied.  That  this  is  the 
case,  also,  in  every  State,  is  equally  certain ;  and  that  it  even 
extends  to  the  counties  of  individual  States,  can  be  as  readily 
proved.  Instance  the  southern  and  northern  parts  of  Vir¬ 
ginia,  the  upper  and  lower  parts  of  South  Carolina.  Have 
not  the  interests  of  these  always  been  at  variance?  Witness 
the  county  of  Fairfax.  Have  not  the  interests  of  the  people 
of  that  county  varied,  or  the  inhabitants  been  taught  to  be¬ 
lieve  so?  These  are  well-known  truths,  and  yet  it  did  not 
follow  that  separation  was  to  result  from  the  disagreement. 

“To  constitute  a  dispute  there  must  be  two  parties.  To 
understand  it  well,  both  parties,  and  all  the  circumstances, 
must  be  fully  heard ;  and,  to  accommodate  differences,  tem¬ 
per  and  mutual  forbearance  are  requisite.  Common  danger 
brought  the  States  into  confederacy,  and  on  their  union  our 
safety  and  importance  depend.  A  spirit  of  accommodation 
was  the  basis  of  the  present  Constitution.  Can  it  be  ex¬ 
pected,  then,  that  the  southern  or  eastern  parts  of  the  em¬ 
pire  will  succeed  in  all  their  measures?  Certainly  not.  But 
I  will  readily  grant  that  more  points  will  be  carried  by  the 
latter  than  the  former,  and  for  the  reason  which  has  been 
mentioned ;  namely,  that  in  all  great  national  questions  they 
move  in  unison,  while  the  others  are  divided.  But  I  ask 
again,  which  is  most  blameworthy,  those  who  see  and  will 
steadily  pursue  their  interest,  or  those  who  cannot  see,  or, 
seeing,  will  not  act  wisely?  And  I  will  ask  another  ques¬ 
tion,  of  the  highest  magnitude  in  my  mind :  to  wit,  if  the 
Eastern  and  Northern  States  are  dangerous  in  union,  will 
they  be  less  so  in  separation?  If  self-interest  is  their  gov¬ 
erning  principle,  will  it  forsake  them,  or  be  restrained  by 
such  an  event?  I  hardly  think  it  would.  Then,  independ- 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii)$toi} 


173 


ently  of  other  considerations,  what  would  Virginia,  and  such 
other  States  as  might  be  inclined  to  join  her,  gain  by  a  sepa¬ 
ration?  Would  they  not,  unquestionably,  be  the  weaker 
party?” 

At  this  juncture  (March  21st),  when  Virginian  discon¬ 
tents  were  daily  gaining  strength,  Mr.  Jefferson  arrived  in 
New  York  to  undertake  the  duties  of  the  Department  of 
State.  We  have  shown  his  strong  antipathies,  while  in 
Paris,  to  everything  of  a  monarchial  or  aristocratical  ten¬ 
dency;  he  had  just  been  in  Virginia,  where  the  forms  and 
ceremonials  adopted  at  the  seat  of  our  government  were  sub¬ 
jects  of  cavil  and  sneer;  where  it  was  reported  that  Wash¬ 
ington  affected  a  monarchial  style  in  his  official  intercourse, 
that  he  held  court-like  levees,  and  Mrs.  Washington  “queenly 
drawing-rooms,”  at  which  none  but  the  aristocracy  were  ad¬ 
mitted,  that  the  manners  of  both  were  haughty,  and  their 
personal  habits  reserved  and  exclusive. 

The  impressions  thus  made  on  Jefferson’s  mind  received 
a  deeper  stamp  on  his  arrival  in  New  York,  from  con  versa 
tions  with  his  friend  Madison,  in  the  course  of  which  the  lat¬ 
ter  observed  that  “the  satellites  and  sycophants  which  sur¬ 
rounded  Washington  had  wound  up  the  ceremonials  of  the 
government  to  a  pitch  of  stateliness  which  nothing  but  his 
personal  character  could  have  supported,  and  which  no  char¬ 
acter  after  him  could  ever  maintain.” 

Thus  prepossessed  and  premonished,  Jefferson  looked 
round  him  with  an  apprehensive  eye,  and  appears  to  have 
seen  something  to  startle  him  at  every  turn.  We  give,  from 
his  private  correspondence,  his  own  account  of  his  impres¬ 
sions.  “Being  fresh  from  the  French  revolution,  while  in 
its  first  and  pure  stage,  and,  consequently,  somewhat  whetted 
up  in  my  own  republican  principles,  I  found  a  state  of  things 


174 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?iQ$toi)  Iruii>$ 


in  the  general  society  of  the  place  which  I  could  not  have 
supposed  possible.  The  revolution  I  had  left,  and  that  we 
had  just  gone  through  in  the  recent  change  of  our  own  gov¬ 
ernment,  being  the  common  topics  of  conversation,  I  was  as¬ 
tonished  to  find  the  general  prevalence  of  monarchial  senti¬ 
ments,  insomuch  that  in  maintaining  those  of  republicanism 
I  had  always  the  whole  company  on  my  hands,  never  scarcely 
finding  among  them  a  single  co-advocate  in  that  argument, 
unless  some  old  member  of  Congress  happened  to  be  present. 
The  furthest  that  any  one  would  go  in  support  of  the  republi¬ 
can  features  of  our  new  government  would  be  to  say,  ‘the 
present  constitution  is  well  as  a  beginning,  and  may  be  al¬ 
lowed  a  fair  trial,  but  it  is,  in  fact,  only  a  stepping-stone  to 
something  better.’  ” 

This  picture,  given  under  excitement,  and  with  precon¬ 
ceived  notions,  is  probably  overcharged;  but  allowing  it  to 
be  true,  we  can  hardly  wonder  at  it,  viewed  in  connection 
with  the  place  and  times.  New  York,  during  the  session 
of  Congress,  was  the  gathering  place  of  politicians  of  every 
party.  The  revolution  of  France  had  made  the  forms  of 
government  once  more  the  universal  topics  of  conversation, 
and  revived  the  conflict  of  opinions  on  the  subject.  As  yet, 
the  history  of  the  world  had  furnished  no  favorable  examples 
of  popular  government ;  speculative  writers  in  England  had 
contended  that  no  government  more  popular  than  their  own 
was  consistent  with  either  internal  tranquillity,  the  suprem  • 
acy  of  the  laws,  or  a  great  extent  of  empire.  Our  republic 
was  ten  times  larger  than  any  that  had  yet  existed.  Jay, 
one  of  the  calmest  thinkers  of  the  Union,  expressed  himself 
dubiously  on  the  subject. 

“Whether  any  people  could  long  govern  themselves  in 
an  equal,  uniform,  and  orderly  manner,  was  a  question  of 


Cife  of  U/asfyip^tor? 


175 


vital  importance  to  the  cause  of  liberty,  but  a  question  which, 
like  others,  whose  solution  depends  on  facts,  could  only  be 
determined  by  experience — now,  as  yet,  there  had  been  very 
few  opportunities  of  making  the  experiment. 5  ’ 

Alexander  Hamilton,  though  pledged  and  sincerely  dis¬ 
posed  to  support  the  republican  form,  with  regard  to  our 
country,  preferred,  theoretically ,  a  monarchial  form;  and, 
being  frank  of  speech,  and,  as  Gouverneur  Morris  writes, 
“prone  to  mount  his  hobby,”  may  have  spoken  openly  in 
favor  of  that  form  as  suitable  to  France ;  and  as  his  admirers 
took  their  creed  from  him,  opinions  of  the  kind  may  have 
been  uttered  pretty  freely  at  dinner-tables.  These,  however, 
which  so  much  surprised  and  shocked  Mr.  Jefferson,  were 
probably  merely  speculative  opinions,  broached  in  unguarded 
hours,  with  no  sinister  design,  by  men  who  had  no  thought 
of  paving  the  way  for  a  monarchy.  They  made,  however, 
a  deep  impression  on  his  apprehensive  mind,  which  sank 
deeper  and  deeper,  until  it  became  a  fixed  opinion  with  him, 
that  there  was  the  desire  and  aim  of  a  large  party,  of  which 
Hamilton  was  the  leader,  to  give  a  regal  form  to  the  gov¬ 
ernment. 


176 


U/orl^s  of  U/asfyir^toi)  Iruiq$ 


CHAPTER  NINE 


The  Assumption  of  the  State  Debts  discussed — Washington  in  Favor 
— A  Majority  of  Two  against  it — Hamilton’s  Appeal  to  Jeffer¬ 
son  on  the  Subject — The  latter  arranges  for  a  Compromise — His 
Account  of  it — Adjustment  about  the  Seat  of  Government — As¬ 
sumption  carried — Treaty  of  Peace  with  the  Creeks — Cavilings 
about  Presidential  Etiquette — Washington’s  Defense — Adjourn¬ 
ment  of  Congress — Fancied  Harmony  of  the  Cabinet — Jefferson 
suspects  Hamilton  of  Finesse  in  procuring  his  Agency  in  the 
Assumption 

The  question  of  the  assumption  of  the  State  debts  was 
resumed  in  Congress  on  the  29th  of  March,  on  a  motion  to 
commit,  which  was  carried  by  a  majority  of  two;  the  five 
members  from  North  Carolina  (now  a  State  of  the  Union), 
who  were  strongly  opposed  to  assumption,  having  taken 
their  seats  and  reversed  the  position  of  parties  on  the  ques¬ 
tion.  An  angry  and  intemperate  discussion  was  revived, 
much  to  the  chagrin  of  "Washington,  who  was  concerned  for 
the  dignity  of  Congress;  and  who  considered  the  assumption 
of  the  State  debts,  under  proper  restrictions  and  scrutiny 
into  accounts,  to  be  just  and  reasonable.*  On  the  12th  of 
April,  when  the  question  to  commit  was  taken,  there  was 
a  majority  of  two  against  the  assumption. 

On  the  26th  the  House  was  discharged,  for  the  present, 
from  proceeding  on  so  much  of  the  report  as  related  to  the 
assumption.  Jefferson,  who  had  arrived  in  New  York  in 
the  midst  of  what  he  terms  4 ‘this  bitter  and  angry  contest,” 


*  See  letter  to  David  Stuart,  Writings  x.,  p.  98. 


Cffe  of  U/a8l?ii)<$toi) 


177 


had  taken  no  concern  in  it;  being,  as  he  says,  “a  stranger 
to  the  ground,  a  stranger  to  the  actors  in  it,  so  long  absent 
as  to  have  lost  all  familiarity  with  the  subject,  and  to  be 
unaware  of  its  object.”  We  give  his  own  account  of  an 
earnest  effort  made  by  Hamilton,  who,  he  says,  was  “in 
despair,”  to  resuscitate,  through  his  influence,  his  almost 
hopeless  project.  “As  1  was  going  to  the  President’s  one 
day,  I  met  him  (Hamilton)  in  the  street.  He  walked  me 
backward  and  forward  before  the  President’s  door  for  half 
an  hour.  He  painted  pathetically  the  temper  into  which 
the  legislature  had  been  wrought;  the  disgust  of  those  who 
were  called  the  creditor  States;  the  danger  of  the  secession 
of  their  members,  and  the  separation  of  the  States.  He 
observed  that  the  members  of  the  administration  ought  to 
act  in  concert;  that  though  this  question  was  not  of  my 
department,  yet  a  common  duty  should  make  it  a  common 
concern;  that  the  President  was  the  center  on  which  all 
administrative  questions  ultimately  rested,  and  that  all  of 
us  should  rally  around  him,  and  support,  with  joint  efforts, 
measures  approved  by  him ;  and  that  the  question  having 
been  lost  by  a  small  majority  only,  it  was  probable  that  an 
appeal  from  me  to  the  judgment  and  discretion  of  some  of 
my  friends  might  effect  a  change  in  the  vote,  and  the  ma¬ 
chine  of  government,  now  suspended,  might  be  again  set 
into  motion.  I  told  him  that  I  was  really  a  stranger  to  the 
whole  subject;  that  not  having  yet  informed  myself  of 
the  system  of  finance  adopted,  1  knew  not  how  far  this  was 
a  necessary  sequence;  that  undoubtedly,  if  its  rejection  en¬ 
dangered  a  dissolution  of  our  Union  at  this  incipient  stage, 
1  should  deem  that  the  most  unfortunate  of  all  consequences, 
to  avert  which  all  partial  and  temporary  evils  should  be 
yielded.  I  proposed  to  him,  however,  to  dine  with  me  the 


178 


ll/or^s  of  U/asl^ip^top  /ruir?^ 


next  day,  and  I  would  invite  another  friend  or  two,  bring 
them  into  conference  together,  and  I  thought  it  impossible 
that  reasonable  men,  consulting  together  coolly,  could  fail, 
by  some  mutual  sacrifices  of  opinion,  to  form  a  compromise 
which  was  to  save  the  Union.  The  discussion  took  place. 
I  could  take  no  part  in  it  but  an  exhortatory  one,  because 
I  was  a  stranger  to  the  circumstances  which  should  govern 
it.  But  it  was  finally  agreed,  that  whatever  importance  had 
been  attached  to  the  rejection  of  this  proposition,  the  pres¬ 
ervation  of  the  Union,  and  of  concord  among  the  States, 
was  more  important,  and  that,  therefore,  it  would  be  better 
that  the  vote  of  rejection  should  be  rescinded,  to  effect  which 
some  members  should  change  their  votes.  But  it  was  ob¬ 
served  that  this  pill  would  be  peculiarly  bitter  to  the  South¬ 
ern  States,  and  that  some  concomitant  measure  should  be 
adopted  to  sweeten  it  a  little  to  them.  There  had  before 
been  projects  to  fix  the  seat  of  government  either  at  Phila¬ 
delphia  or  at  Georgetown  on  the  Potomac;  and  it  was 
thought  that,  by  giving  it  to  Philadelphia  for  ten  years, 
and  to  Georgetown  permanently  afterward,  this  might, 
as  an  anodyne,  calm  in  some  degree  the  ferment  which 
might  be  excited  by  the  other  measure  alone.  So  two 
of  the  Potomac  members  (White  and  Lee,  but  White 
with  a  revulsion  of  stomach  almost  convulsive)  agreed  to 
change  their  votes,  and  Hamilton  undertook  to  carry  the 
other  point.  In  doing  this,  the  influence  he  had  established 
over  the  eastern  members,  with  the  agency  of  Robert  Morris 
with  those  of  the  Middle  States,  effected  his  side  of  the  en¬ 
gagement.”  * 

The  decision  of  Congress  was  ultimately  in  favor  of  as- 


*  Jefferson’s  Works,  ix.  93,  The  Anas. 


Cife  of  U/a8l?ii)$tOQ 


179 


sumption,  though  the  form  in  which  it  finally  passed  differed 
somewhat  from  the  proposition  of  Hamilton.  A  specific 
sum  was  assumed  ($21,500,000),  and  this  was  distributed 
among  the  States  in  specific  portions.  Thus  modified,  it 
passed  the  Senate,  July  22d,  by  the  close  vote  of  fourteen 
to  twelve;  and  the  House,  July  24th,  by  thirty-four  to 
twenty-eight,  “after  having,”  says  Washington,  “been 
agitated  with  a  warmth  and  intemperance,  with  prolixity 
and  threats  which,  it  is  to  be  feared,  have  lessened  the  dig¬ 
nity  of  Congress  and  decreased  the  respect  once  entertained 
for  it.” 

The  question  about  the  permanent  seat  of  government, 
which,  from  the  variety  of  contending  interests,  had  been 
equally  a  subject  of  violent  contests,  was  now  compromised. 
It  was  agreed  that  Congress  should  continue  for  ten  years  to 
hold  its  sessions  at  Philadelphia;  during  which  time  the  pub¬ 
lic  buildings  should  be  erected  at  some  place  on  the  Potomac, 
to  which  the  government  should  remove  at  the  expiration 
of  the  above  term.  A  territory,  ten  miles  square,  selected 
for  the  purpose  on  the  confines  of  Maryland  and  Virginia, 
was  ceded  by  those  States  to  the  United  States,  and  subse¬ 
quently  designated  as  the  District  of  Columbia. 

One  of  the  last  acts  of  the  Executive  during  this  session 
was  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty  of  peace  and  friendship  with 
the  Creek  nation  of  Indians,  represented  at  New  York  by 
Mr.  M‘Gillivray,  and  thirty  of  the  chiefs  and  head  men.  By 
this  treaty  (signed  August  7th),  an  extensive  territory, 
claimed  by  Georgia,  was  relinquished,  greatly  to  the  dis¬ 
content  of  that  State;  being  considered  by  it  an  unjusti¬ 
fiable  abandonment  of  its  rights  and  interests.  Jefferson, 
however,  lauded  the  treaty  as  important,  “drawing  a  line,” 
said  he,  “between  the  Creeks  and  Georgia,  and  enabling  the 


180  U/orl^s  of  U/asl?ii)$tor)  Iruir)<$ 

government  to  do,  as  it  will  do,  justice  against  either  party 
offending.” 

In  familiar  conversations  with  the  President,  Jefferson 
remonstrated  frequently  and  earnestly  against  the  forms  and 
ceremonies  prevailing  at  the  seat  of  government.  Washing¬ 
ton,  in  reply,  gave  the  explanation  which  we  have  stated  in 
a  preceding  chapter;  that  they  had  been  adopted  at  the  ad¬ 
vice  of  others,  and  that  for  himself  he  was  indifferent  to  all 
forms.  He  soon,  however,  became  painfully  aware  of  the  ex¬ 
aggerated  notions  on  the  subject  prevalent  in  Virginia.  A 
letter  from  his  friend,  Dr.  Stuart,  informed  him  that  Patrick 
Henry  had  scouted  the  idea  of  being  elected  to  the  Senate; 
he  was  too  old,  he  said,  to  fall  into  the  awkward  imitations 
which  were  now  become  fashionable.  “From  this  expres¬ 
sion,”  adds  Mr.  Stuart,  “I  suspect  the  old  patriot  has  heard 
some  extraordinary  representations  of  the  etiquette  estab¬ 
lished  at  your  levees.”  Another  person,  whom  Dr.  Stuart 

designates  as  Col.  B - ,  had  affirmed  “that  there  was  more 

pomp  used  there  than  at  St.  James’s,  where  he  had  been, 
and  that  Washington’s  bows  were  more  distant  and  stiff.” 

These  misapprehensions  and  exaggerations,  prevalent  in 
his  native  State,  touched  Washington  to  the  quick,  and  called 
forth  a  more  sensitive  reply  than,  on  such  subjects,  he  was 
accustomed  to  make.  “That  I  have  not  been  able,”  writes 

he,  “to  make  bows  to  the  taste  of  poor  Col.  B - (who,  by 

the  bye,  I  believe  never  saw  one  of  them)  is  to  be  regretted, 
especially,  too,  as,  upon  those  occasions,  they  were  indis¬ 
criminately  bestowed,  and  the  best  I  was  master  of.  W  ould 
it  not  have  been  better  to  throw  the  veil  of  charity  over 
them,  ascribing  their  stiffness  to  the  effects  of  age,  or  to  the 
unskillfulness  of  my  teacher,  rather  than  to  pride  and  the 
dignity  of  office,  which,  God  knows,  has  no  charms  for  me? 


Cife  of  U/asI?ii)$t:oi) 


181 


For  I  can  truly  say,  I  had  rather  be  at  Mount  Yemon  with 
a  friend  or  two  about  me  than  to  be  attended  at  the  seat  of 
government  by  the  officers  of  state  and  the  representatives 
of  every  power  in  Europe.”  ' 

He  then  goes  on  to  give  a  sketch  of  his  levees,  and  the 
little  ceremony  that  prevailed  there.  As  to  the  visits  made 
on  those  occasions  to  the  presidential  mansion,  they  were  op¬ 
tional,  and  made  without  invitation.  “Between  the  hours 
of  three  and  four,  every  Tuesday,  I  am  prepared  to  receive 
them.  Gentlemen,  often  in  great  numbers,  come  and  go, 
chat  with  each  other,  and  act  as  they  please ;  a  porter  shows 
them  into  the  room  and  they  retire  from  it  when  they  please, 
and  without  ceremony.  At  their  first  entrance  they  salute 
me,  and  I  them,  and  as  many  as  I  can  talk  to  I  do.  What 
pomp  there  is  in  all  this  I  am  unable  to  discover.  Perhaps 
it  consists  in  not  sitting.  To  this,  two  reasons  are  opposed : 
first,  it  is  unusual;  secondly,  which  is  a  more  substantial 
one,  because  I  have  no  room  large  enough  to  contain  a  third 
of  the  chairs  which  would  be  sufficient  to  admit  it. 

“Similar  to  the  above,  but  of  a  more  sociable  kind,  are 
the  visits  every  Friday  afternoon  to  Mrs.  Washington,  where 
I  always  am.  These  public  meetings,  and  a  dinner  once  a 
week,  to  as  many  as  my  table  will  hold,  with  the  references 
to  and  from  the  different  departments  of  state,  and  other 
communications  with  all  parts  of  the  Union,  are  as  much,  if 
not  more,  than  I  am  able  to  undergo;  for  I  have  already 
had,  within  less  than  a  year,  two  severe  attacks — the  last 
worse  than  the  first.  A  third,  more  than  probably,  will  put 
me  to  sleep  with  my  fathers.” 

Congress  adjourned  on  the  12th  of  August.  Jefferson, 
commenting  on  the  discord  that  had  prevailed  for  a  time 
among  the  members,  observes  that  in  the  latter  part  of  the 


282 


U/orl^s  of  U/as^iQ^toi)  IrviQ$ 


session  they  had  reacquired  the  harmony  which  had  always 
distinguished  their  proceedings  before  the  introduction  of  the 
two  disagreeable  subjects  of  the  Assumption  and  the  Resi¬ 
dence:  “ these.’ ’  said  he,  “really  threatened,  at  one  time,  a 
separation  of  the  legislature  sine  die.” 

“It  is  not  foreseen,’ ’  adds  he  sanguinely,  “that  anything 
so  generative  of  dissension  can  arise  again ;  and,  therefore, 
the  friends  of  government  hope  that,  that  difficulty  sur¬ 
mounted  in  the  States,  everything  will  work  well.”* 

Washington,  too,  however  grieved  and  disappointed  he 
may  have  been  by  the  dissensions  which  had  prevailed  in 
Congress,  consoled  himself  by  the  fancied  harmony  of  his 
cabinet.  Singularly  free  himself  from  all  jealousy  of  the 
talents  and  popularity  of  others,  and  solely  actuated  by  zeal 
for  the  public  good,  he  had  sought  the  ablest  men  to  assist 
him  in  his  arduous  task,  and  supposed  them  influenced  by 
the  same  unselfish  spirit.  In  a  letter  to  Lafayette,  he  writes : 
“Many  of  your  old  acquaintances  and  friends  are  concerned 
with  me  in  the  administration  of  this  government.  By  hav¬ 
ing  Mr.  Jefferson  at  the  head  of  the  Department  of  State, 
Mr.  Jay  of  the  Judiciary,  Hamilton  of  the  Treasury,  and 
Knox  of  War,  I  feel  myself  supported  by  able  coadjutors 
who  harmonize  extremely  well  together.” 

Yet,  at  this  very  moment,  a  lurking  spirit  of  rivalry  be¬ 
tween  Jefferson  and  Hamilton  was  already  existing  and 
daily  gaining  strength.  Jefferson,  who,  as  we  have  inti¬ 
mated,  already  considered  Hamilton  a  monarchist  in  his 
principles,  regarded  all  his  financial  schemes  with  suspicion, 
as  intended  to  strengthen  the  influence  of  the  treasury  and 
make  its  chief  the  master  of  every  vote  in  the  legislature, 


*  Jefferson’s  Works,  iii.  184. 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii)$toQ 


183 


‘‘which  might  give  to  the  government  the  direction  suited 

\ 

to  his  political  views.” 

Under  these  impressions,  Jefferson  looked  back  with  an 
angry  and  resentful  eye  to  the  manner  in  which  Hamilton 
had  procured  his  aid  in  effecting  the  measure  of  assumption. 
He  now  regarded  it  as  a  finesse  by  which  he  had  been  en¬ 
trapped,  and  stigmatized  the  measure  itself  as  a  “fiscal  ma¬ 
neuver,  to  which  he  had  most  ignorantly  and  innocently  been 
made  to  hold  the  candle.”  * 


CHAPTER  TEN 

Lafayette  at  the  Head  of  the  Revolution  in  France — His  Letter  to 
Washington — Gouverneur  Morris’s  Opinion  of  his  Position — 
Washington’s  dubious  and  anxious  Views — Presented  by  La¬ 
fayette  with  the  Key  of  the  Bastile — Visits  Rhode  Island  and 
Mount  Vernon 

During  these  early  stages  of  his  administration  the  at¬ 
tention  of  Washington  was  often  called  off  from  affairs  at 
home  to  affairs  in  France ;  and  to  the  conspicuous  and  peril¬ 
ous  part  which  his  friend  and  disciple,  Lafayette,  was  play¬ 
ing  in  the  great  revolutionary  drama. 

“Your  friend,  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,”  writes  the 
Marquis  de  la  Luzerne,  “finds  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
revolution;  and,  indeed,  it  is  a  very  fortunate  circumstance 
for  the  State  that  he  is,  but  very  little  so  for  himself.  Never 
has  any  man  been  placed  in  a  more  critical  situation.  A  good 
citizen,  a  faithful  subject,  he  is  embarrassed  by  a  thousand 
difficulties  in  making  many  people  sensible  of  what  is  proper, 

i 

who  very  often  feel  it  not,  and  who  sometimes  do  not  under¬ 
stand  what  it  is.” 


*  Jefferson’s  Works,  ix.  92. 


184 


U/or^s  of  U/asl?ir}<$toi)  Irvir>$ 


Lafayette,  too,  amid  the  perplexities  of  conducting  a  revo¬ 
lution,  looked  back  to  the  time  when,  in  his  early  campaigns 
in  America,  he  had  shared  Washington’s  councils,  bivouacked 
with  him  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  been  benefited  by  his 
guardian  wisdom  in  every  emergency. 

“How  often,  my  well-beloved  general,”  writes  he  (Janu¬ 
ary,  1790),  “have  I  regretted  your  sage  councils  and  friendly 
support.  We  have  advanced  in  the  career  of  the  revolution 
without  the  vessel  of  State  being  wrecked  against  the  rocks 
of  aristocracy  or  faction.  In  the  midst  of  efforts,  always  re¬ 
newing,  of  the  partisans  of  the  past  and  of  the  ambitious,  we 
advance  toward  a  tolerable  conclusion.  At  present,  that 
which  existed  has  been  destroyed;  a  new  political  edifice  is 
forming;  without  being  perfect,  it  is  sufficient  to  assure  lib¬ 
erty.  Thus  prepared,  the  nation  will  be  in  a  state  to  elect, 
in  two  years,  a  convention  which  can  correct  the  faults  of 
the  constitution.  .  .  .  The  result  will,  I  hope,  be  happy  for 
my  country  and  for  humanity.  One  perceives  the  germs  of 
liberty  in  other  parts  of  Europe.  I  will  encourage  their  de¬ 
velopment  by  all  the  means  in  my  power.” 

Gouverneur  Morris,  who  is  no  enthusiast  of  the  revolu¬ 
tion,  regards  its  progress  with  a  dubious  eye.  Lafayette,  in 
the  previous  month  of  November,  had  asked  his  opinion  of 
his  situation.  “I  give  it  to  him,”  writes  Morris,  “ sans  me- 
nagement.  I  tell  him  that  the  time  approaches  when  all 
good  men  must  cling  to  the  throne.  That  the  present  king 
is  very  valuable  on  account  of  his  moderation;  and  if  he 
should  possess  too  great  authority,  might  be  persuaded  to 
grant  a  proper  constitution.  That  the  thing  called  a  consti¬ 
tution,  which  the  Assembly  have  framed,  is  good  for  noth¬ 
ing.  That,  as  to  himself,  his  personal  situation  is  very  deli¬ 
cate.  That  he  nominally,  but  not  really,  commands  his 


Cife  of  U/a8^ir>^toi> 


185 


troops.  That  1  really  cannot  understand  how  he  is  to  estab- 

\ 

lisli  discipline  among  them,  but,  unless  he  can  accomplish 
that  object,  he  must  be  ruined  sooner  or  later.” 

On  the  22d  of  January,  1790,  Morris  writes  to  Washing¬ 
ton,  “Our  friend,  Lafayette,  burns  with  desire  to  be  at  the 
head  of  an  army  in  Flanders,"  and  drive  the  Stadtholder  into 
a  ditch.  He  acts  now  a  splendid,  but  dangerous  part.  Un¬ 
luckily,  he  has  given  in  to  measures,  as  to  the  constitution, 
which  he  does  not  heartily  approve,  and  heartily  approves 
many  things  which  experience  will  demonstrate  to  be  in¬ 
jurious.”  * 

Far  removed  as  Washington  was  from  the  theater  of  po-  * 
litical  action,  and  but  little  acquainted  with  many  of  the  mi¬ 
nute  circumstances  which  might  influence  important  decis¬ 
ions,  he  was  cautious  in  hazarding  opinions  in  his  replies  to 
his  French  correspondents.  Indeed,  the  whole  revolutionary 
movement  appeared  to  him  so  extraordinary  in  its  commence¬ 
ment,  so  wonderful  in  its  progress,  and  so  stupendous  in  its 
possible  consequences,  that  he  declared  himself  almost  lost  in 
the  contemplation  of  it.  “Of  one  thing  you  may  rest  per¬ 
fectly  assured,”  writes  he  to  the  Marquis  de  la  Luzerne, 
“that  nobody  is  more  anxious  for  the  happy  issue  of  that 
business  than  I  am ;  as  no  one  can  wish  more  sincerely  for 
the  prosperity  of  the  French  nation  than  I  do.  Nor  is  it 
without  the  most  sensible  pleasure  that  I  learn  that  our 
friend,  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  has,  in  acting  the  ardu¬ 
ous  part  which  has  fallen  to  his  share,  conducted  himself 
with  so  much  wisdom  and  apparently  with  such  general 
satisfaction.” 

A  letter  subsequently  received  from  Lafayette  gives  him 
two  months’  later  tidings,  extending  to  the  middle  of  March. 


*  Sparks’  Life  of  Morris,  ii.  86. 


186 


U/orks  of  U/as^ip^cop  Irv/ip$ 


“Our  revolution  pursues  its  march  as  happily  as  is  possible* 
with  a  nation  which,  receiving  at  once  all  its  liberties,  is  yet 
subject  to  confound  them  with  licentiousness.  The  Assem¬ 
bly  has  more  of  hatred  against  the  ancient  system  than  of 
experience  to  organize  the  new  constitutional  government; 
the  ministers  regret  their  ancient  power,  and  do  not  dare  to 
make  use  of  that  which  they  have ;  in  short,  as  all  which  ex¬ 
isted  has  been  destroyed,  and  replaced  by  institutions  very 
incomplete,  there  is  ample  matter  for  critiques  and  calumnies. 
Add  to  this,  we  are  attacked  by  two  sorts  of  enemies;  the 
aristocrats  who  aim  at  a  counter-revolution,  and  the  factions 
who  would  annihilate  all  authority,  perhaps  even  attempt  the 
life  of  the  members  of  the  reigning  branch.  These  two  par¬ 
ties  foment  all  the  troubles. 

“After  having  avowed  all  this,  my  dear  general,  I  will 
tell  you,  with  the  same  frankness,  that  we  have  made  an  ad¬ 
mirable  and  almost  incredible  destruction  of  all  the  abuses, 
of  all  the  prejudices;  that  all  which  was  not  useful  to  the 
people,  all  which  did  not  come  from  them,  has  been  re¬ 
trenched;  that,  in  considering  the  situation,  topographical, 
moral  and  political  of  France,  we  have  effected  more  changes 
in  ten  months  than  the  most  presumptuous  patriots  could 
have  hoped,  and  that  the  reports  about  our  anarchy,  our  in¬ 
ternal  troubles,  are  greatly  exaggerated.” 

In  concluding  this  letter,  he  writes:  “Permit  me,  my 
dear  general,  to  offer  you  a  picture  representing  the  Bastile, 
such  as  it  was  some  days  after  I  had  given  orders  for  its 
demolition.  I  make  you  homage,  also,  of  the  principal  key 
of  this  fortress  of  despotism.  It  is  a  tribute  which  I  owe 
you,  as  son  to  my  adopted  father,  as  aid-de-camp  to  my 
general,  as  missionary  of  liberty  to  its  patriarch.”  * 


*  Mem.  de  Lafayette,  t.  ii.,  p.  446. 


Cife  of  U/asbir^toi) 


187 


Thomas  Paine  was  to  have  been  the  bearer  of  the  key, 

i 

but  he  forwarded  it  to  Washington  from  London.  “I  feel 
myself  happy,”  writes  he,  “in  being  the  person  through 
whom  the  marquis  has  conveyed  this  early  trophy  of  the 
spoils  of  despotism,  and  the  first  ripe  fruits  of  American 
principles,  transplanted  into  Europe,  to  his  great  master  and 
patron.  That  the  principles  of  America  opened  the  Bastile 
is  not  to  be  doubted,  and,  therefore,  the  key  comes  to  the 
right  place.” 

Washington  received  the  key  with  reverence,  as  “a  token 
of  the  victory  gained  by  liberty  over  despotism”;  and  it  is 
still  preserved  at  Mount  Yernon,  as  a  precious  historical 
relic. 

His  affectionate  solicitude  for  the  well-being  of  Lafayette 
was  somewhat  relieved  by  the  contents  of  his  letter;  but, 
while  his  regard  for  the  French  nation  made  him  rejoice  in 
the  progress  of  the  political  reform  which  he  considered  es¬ 
sential  to  its  welfare,  he  felt  a  generous  solicitude  for  the 
personal  safety  of  the  youthful  monarch,  who  had  befriended 
America  in  its  time  of  need. 

“Happy  am  I,  my  good  friend,”  writes  he  to  the  mar¬ 
quis,  “that,  amid  all  the  tremendous  tempests  which  have 
assailed  your  political  ship,  you  have  had  address  and  forti¬ 
tude  enough  to  steer  her  hitherto  safely  through  the  quick¬ 
sands  and  rocks  which  threatened  instant  destruction  on 
every  side;  and  that  your  young  king,  in  all  things,  seems 
so  well  disposed  to  conform  to  the  wishes  of  the  nation.  In 
such  an  important,  such  a  hazardous  voyage,  when  every¬ 
thing  dear  and  sacred  is  embarked,  you  know  full  well  my 
best  wishes  have  never  left  you  for  a  moment.  Yet  I  will 
avow  that  the  accounts  we  received  through  the  English 
papers,  which  were  sometimes  our  only  channels  of  infor- 


188 


U/orl^s  of  U/a8f?ir)$toi)  Iruii)$ 


mation,  caused  our  fears  of  failure  almost  to  exceed  our 
expectations  of  success.” 

Those  fears  were  not  chimerical ;  for,  at  the  very  time  he 
penned  this  letter,  the  J  acobin  club  of  Paris  had  already  sent 
forth  ramifications  throughout  France;  corresponding  clubs 
were  springing  up  by  hundreds  in  the  provinces,  and  every¬ 
thing  was  hurrying  forward  to  a  violent  catastrophe. 

Three  days  after  the  dispatch  of  the  last-cited  letter,  and 
two  days  after  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  Washington, 
accompanied  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  departed  by  water  on  a  visit 
to  Rhode  Island,  which  State  had  recently  acceded  to  the 
Union.  He  was  cordially  welcomed  by  the  inhabitants,  and 
returned  to  Hew  York,  after  an  absence  of  ten  days,  whence 
he  again  departed  for  his  beloved  Mount  Vernon,  there  to 
cast  off  public  cares  as  much  as  possible,  and  enjoy  the 
pleasures  of  the  country  during  the  residue  of  the  recess 
of  Congress. 


CHAPTER  ELEVEN 

Frontier  Difficulties  with  the  Indians— General  Harmer’s  Expedi¬ 
tion  against  them — Ambuscade  of  Col.  Hardin’s  Detachment — 
Escape  of  Capt.  Armstrong— A  second  Detachment  of  Col. 
Hardin  compelled  to  retreat — Washington’s  long  Anxiety  as 
to  the  Result  of  the  Enterprise— Final  Tidings 

Frequent  depredations  had  of  late  been  made  on  our 
frontier  settlements  by  what  Washington  termed  “certain 
banditti  of  Indians”  from  the  northwest  side  of  the  Ohio. 
Some  of  our  people  had  been  massacred  and  others  carried 
into  deplorable  captivity. 

Strict  justice  and  equity  had  always  formed  the  basis  of 
Washington’s  dealings  with  the  Indian  tribes,  and  he  had 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii)<$tor) 


189 


endeavored  to  convince  them  that  such  was  the  general 
policy  of  our  government;  but  his  efforts  were  often 
thwarted  by  the  conduct  of  our  own  people;  the  encroach- 
ments  of  land  speculators  and  the  lawless  conduct  of  our 
frontiersmen ;  and  jealousies  thus  excited  were  fomented  by 
the  intrigues  of  foreign  agents. 

The  Indians  of  the  Wabash  and  the  Miami  Rivers,  who 
were  the  present  aggressors,  were  numerous,  warlike,  and 
not  deficient  in  discipline.  They  were  well  armed  also,  ob¬ 
taining  weapons  and  ammunition  from  the  posts  which  the 
British  still  retained  within  the  territories  of  the  United 
States,  contrary  to  the  treaty  of  peace. 

Washington  had  deprecated  a  war  with  these  savages, 
whom  he  considered  acting  under  delusion ;  but  finding  all 
pacific  overtures  unavailing,  and  rather  productive  of  more 
daring  atrocities,  he  felt  compelled  to  resort  to  it,  alike  by 
motives  of  policy,  humanity  and  justice.  An  act  had  been 
provided  for  emergencies  by  which  the  President  was  em¬ 
powered  to  call  out  the  militia  for  the  protection  of  the  fron¬ 
tier  ;  this  act  he  put  in  force  in  the  interval  of  Congress ;  and 
under  it  an  expedition  was  set  on  foot,  which  began  its  march 
on  the  30th  of  September  from  Fort  Washington  (which  stood 
on  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Cincinnati) .  Brigadier-gen¬ 
eral  Harmer,  a  veteran  of  the  Revolution,  led  the  expedition, 
having  under  him  three  hundred  and  twenty  regulars,  with 
militia  detachments  from  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  (or 
Kentucky),  making  in  all  fourteen  hundred  and  fifty- three 
men.  After  a  march  of  seventeen  days,  they  approached 
the  principal  village  of  the  Miamis.  The  Indians  did  not 
await  an  attack,  but  set  fire  to  the  village  and  fled  to  the 
woods.  The  destruction  of  the  place,  with  that  of  large 
quantities  of  provisions,  was  completed. 


190 


U/orKs  of  U/asl;ii}$toi)  Irvii)$ 


An  Indian  trail  being  discovered,  Colonel  Hardin,  a  Con¬ 
tinental  officer  who  commanded  the  Kentucky  militia,  was 
detached  to  follow  it,  at  the  head  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
of  his  men,  and  about  thirty  regulars,  under  Captain  Arm¬ 
strong  and  Ensign  Hartshorn.  They  followed  the  trail  for 
about  six  miles,  and  were  crossing  a  plain  covered  by  thick¬ 
ets,  when  suddenly  there  were  volleys  of  rifles  on  each  side 
from  unseen  marksmen,  accompanied  by  the  horrid  war- 
whoop.  The  trail  had,  in  fact,  decoyed  them  into  an  am¬ 
bush  of  seven  hundred  savages,  under  the  famous  warrior 
Little  Turtle.  The  militia  fled,  without  firing  a  musket. 
The  savages  now  turned  upon  the  little  handful  of  regulars, 
who  stood  their  ground,  and  made  a  brave  resistance  with 
the  bayonet  until  all  were  slain,  excepting  Captain  Arm¬ 
strong,  Ensign  Hartshorn  and  five  privates.  The  ensign 
was  saved  by  falling  behind  a  log,  which  screened  him  from 
his  pursuers.  Armstrong  plunged  into  a  swamp,  where  he 
sank  up  to  his  neck,  and  remained  for  several  hours  in  the 
night  within  two  hundred  yards  of  the  field  of  action,  a 
spectator  of  the  war-dance  of  the  savages  over  the  slain. 
The  two  officers  who  escaped  thus  narrowly  found  their  way 
back  to  the  camp,  about  six  miles  distant.* 

The  army,  notwithstanding,  effected  the  main  purpose  of 
the  expedition  in  laying  waste  the  Indian  villages  and  de¬ 
stroying  their  winter’s  stock  of  provisions,  after  which  it 
commenced  its  march  back  to  Fort  Washington.  On  the 
21st  of  October,  when  it  was  halted  about  ten  miles  to  the 
west  of  Chillicothe,  an  opportunity  was  given  Colonel  Hardin 
to  wipe  out  the  late  disgrace  of  his  arms.  He  was  detached 
with  a  larger  body  of  militia  than  before,  and  sixty  regulars, 
under  Major  Willys,  to  seek  and  bring  the  savages  to  action. 


*  Butler’s  History  of  Kentucky,  192. 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii)<$toi? 


191 


The  accounts  of  these  Indian  wars  are  very  confused.  It 
appears,  however,  that  he  had  another  encounter  with  Little 
Turtle  and  his  braves.  It  was  a  bloody  battle,  fought  well 
on  both  sides.  The  militia  behaved  bravely,  and  lost  many 
men  and  officers,  as  did  the  regulars;  Major  Willy s  fell  at 
the  commencement  of  the  action.  Colonel  Hardin  was  at 
length  compelled  to  retreat,  leaving  the  dead  and  wounded 
in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  After  he  had  rejoined  the  main 
force,  the  whole  expedition  made  its  way  back  to  Fort  W ash- 
ington,  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio. 

During  all  this  time  Washington  had  been  rusticating  at 
Mount  Vernon,  in  utter  ignorance  of  the  events  of  this  expe¬ 
dition.  Week  after  week  elapsed  without  any  tidings  of  its 
issue,  progress,  or  even  commencement.  On  the  2d  of  No¬ 
vember,  he  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  War  (General  Knox), 
expressing  his  surprise  at  this  lack  of  information,  and  his 
anxiety  as  to  the  result  of  the  enterprise,  and  requesting  him 
to  forward  any  official  or  other  accounts  that  he  might  have 
relating  to  it. 

“This  matter,”  observed  he,  “favorable  or  otherwise  in 
the  issue,  will  be  required  to  be  laid  before  Congress,  that 
the  motives  which  induced  the  expedition  may  appear.” 
Nearly  another  month  elapsed;  the  time  for  the  reassem¬ 
bling  of  Congress  was  at  hand,  yet  Washington  was  still 
without  the  desired  information.  It  was  not  until  the  last 
of  November  that  he  received  a  letter  from  Governor  George 
Clinton,  of  New  York,  communicating  particulars  of  the 
affair,  related  to  him  by  Brant,  the  celebrated  Indian  chief. 

“If  the  information  of  Captain  Brant  be  true,”  wrote 
Washington  in  reply,  “the  issue  of  the  expedition  against 
the  Indians  will  indeed  prove  unfortunate  and  disgraceful  to 
the  troops  who  suffered  themselves  to  be  ambuscaded.” 


192 


U/or^s  of  U/asl?ir}$toi)  Iruii)$ 


CHAPTER  TWELVE 

Congress  reassembles  at  Philadelphia — Residence  of  Washington  at 
the  new  Seat  of  Government — The  State  Carriage — Hamilton’s 
Financial  Arrangements — Impost  and  Excise  Bill — Passage  of 
a  Bill  for  a  National  Bank — Jefferson’s  Objections — Formation 
of  two  Political  Parties  under  Hamilton  and  Jefferson — Their 
different  Views — Dissatisfaction  of  Congress  at  the  Report  of 
Harmer’s  Expedition — Washington’s  Address  to  the  Seneca 
Chiefs — His  Desire  to  civilize  the  Savages — Kentucky  and  Ver¬ 
mont  admitted  into  the  Union — First  Congress  expires — A  new 
Expedition  projected  against  the  Hostile  Tribes  under  General 
St.  Clair — Washington’s  Solemn  Warning  on  taking  Leave  of 
him 

Congress  reassembled,  according  to  adjournment,  on  the 
first  Monday  in  December,  at  Philadelphia,  which  was  now, 
for  a  time,  the  seat  of  government.  A  house  belonging  to 
Mr.  Robert  Morris,  the  financier,  had  been  hired  by  Wash¬ 
ington  for  his  residence,  and,  at  his  request,  had  undergone 
additions  and  alterations,  in  a  plain  and  neat,  and  not  by 
any  means  in  an  extravagant  style. 

His  secretary,  Mr.  Lear,  had  made  every  preparation  for 
his  arrival  and  accommodation,  and,  among  other  things, 
had  spoken  of  the  rich  and  elegant  style  in  which  the  state 
carriage  was  fitted  up.  “I  had  rather  have  heard,’ 5  replied 
Washington,  “that  my  coach  was  plain  and  elegant  than 
rich  and  elegant.” 

Congress,  at  its  opening,  was  chiefly  occupied  in  financial 
arrangements,  intended  to  establish  the  public  credit  and  pro¬ 
vide  for  the  expenses  of  government.  According  to  the  state¬ 
ment  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  an  additional  annual 


Cife  of  U/asf?ir)<$tor) 


193 


revenue  of  eight  hundred  and  twenty-six  thousand  dollars 
would  be  required,  principally  to  meet  the  additional  charges 
arising  from  the  assumption  of  the  State  debts.  He  proposed 
to  raise  it  by  an  increase  of  the  impost  on  foreign  distilled 
spirits,  and  a  tax  by  way  of  excise  on  spirits  distilled  at  home. 
An  Impost  and  Excise  bill  was  accordingly  introduced  into 
Congress,  and  met  with  violent  opposition.  An  attempt  was 
made  to  strike  out  the  excise,  but  failed,  and  the  whole  bill 
was  finally  carried  through  the  House. 

Mr.  Hamilton,  in  his  former  Treasury  report,  had  recom¬ 
mended  the  establishment  of  a  National  Bank;  he  now,  in  a 
special  report,  urged  the  policy  of  the  measure.  A  bill  in¬ 
troduced  in  conformity  with  his  views  was  passed  in  the 
Senate,  but  vehemently  opposed  in  the  House ;  partly  on  con¬ 
siderations  of  policy ;  but  chiefly  on  the  ground  of  constitu¬ 
tionality.  On  one  side  it  was  denied  that  the  constitution 
had  given  to  Congress  the  power  of  incorporation;  on  the 
other  side  it  was  insisted  that  such  power  was  incident  to 
the  power  vested  in  Congress  for  raising  money. 

The  question  was  argued  at  length,  and  with  great  ardor, 
and  after  passing  the  House  of  Representatives  by  a  major¬ 
ity  of  nineteen  votes,  came  before  the  executive  for  his  ap¬ 
proval.  Washington  was  fully  alive  to  the  magnitude  of 
the  question  and  the  interest  felt  in  it  by  the  opposing  par¬ 
ties.  The  cabinet  was  divided  on  it.  Jefferson  and  Ran¬ 
dolph  denied  its  constitutionality ;  Hamilton  and  Knox  main¬ 
tained  it.  Washington  required  of  each  minister  the  reasons 
of  his  opinion  in  writing ;  and,  after  maturely  weighing  them, 
gave  his  sanction  to  the  act,  and  the  bill  was  carried  into 
effect. 

The  objection  of  J'efferson  to  a  bank  was  not  merely  on 
constitutional  grounds.  In  his  subsequent  writings  he  avows 

Vol.  XV. — ***  9 


194 


U/orks  of  U/asl?iQ$toi}  IrviQ$ 


himself  opposed  to  banks,  as  introducing  a  paper  instead  of 
a  cash  system — raising  up  a  moneyed  aristocracy,  and  aban¬ 
doning  the  public  to  the  discretion  of  avarice  and  swindlers. 
Paper  money  might  have  some  advantages,  but  its  abuses 
were  inevitable,  and  by  breaking  up  the  measure  of  value, 
it  made  a  lottery  of  all  private  property.  These  objections 
he  maintained  to  his  dying  day ;  but  he  had  others,  which 
might  have  been  more  cogent  with  him  in  the  present  in¬ 
stance.  He  considered  the  bank  as  a  powerful  engine  intended 
by  Hamilton  to  complete  the  machinery  by  which  the  whole 
action  of  the  legislature  was  to  be  placed  under  the  direction 
of  the  Treasury,  and  shaped  to  further  a  monarchial  system 
of  government.  Washington,  he  affirmed,  was  not  aware  of 
the  drift  or  effect  of  Hamilton’s  schemes.  “Unversed  in 
financial  projects  and  calculations  and  budgets,  his  approba¬ 
tion  of  them  was  bottomed  on  his  confidence  in  the  man.” 

Washington,  however,  was  not  prone  to  be  swayed  in  his 
judgments  by  blind  partiality.  When  he  distrusted  his  own 
knowledge  in  regard  to  any  important  measure,  he  asked  the 
written  opinions  of  those  of  his  council  who  he  thought  were 
better  informed,  and  examined  and  weighed  them,  and  put 
them  to  the  test  of  his  almost  unfailing  sagacity.  This  was 
the  way  he  had  acted  as  a  general,  in  his  military  councils, 
and  he  found  the  same  plan  efficacious  in  his  cabinet.  His 
confidence  in  Hamilton’s  talents,  information  and  integrity 
nad  led  him  to  seek  his  counsels ;  but  his  approbation  of  those 
counsels  was  bottomed  on  a  careful  investigation  of  them. 
It  was  the  same  in  regard  to  the  counsels  of  J efferson ;  they 
\vere  received  with  great  deference,  but  always  deliberately 
and  scrupulously  weighed.  The  opposite  policy  of  these 
rival  statesmen  brought  them  into  incessant  collision. 
“Hamilton  and  myself,”  writes  Jefferson,  “were  daily 


Cife  of  U/asl?ir}<$toi7 


195 


pitted  in  the  cabinet  like  two  cocks.”  The  warm-hearted 
Knox  always  sided  with  his  old  companion  in  arms;  whose 
talents  he  revered.  He  is  often  noticed  with  a  disparaging 
sneer  by  Jefferson,  in  consequence.  Randolph  commonly 
adhered  to  the  latter.  Washington’s  calm  and  massive  in¬ 
tellect  overruled  any  occasional  discord.  His  policy  with 
regard  to  his  constitutional  advisers  has  been  happily  esti¬ 
mated  by  a  modern  statesman :  ‘  ‘  He  sought  no  unit  cabinet, 
according  to  the  set  phrase  of  succeeding  times.  He  asked 
no  suppression  of  sentiment,  no  concealment  of  opinion;  he 
exhibited  no  mean  jealousy  of  high  talent  in  others.  He 
gathered  around  him  the  greatest  public  men  of  that  day, 
and  some  of  them  to  be  ranked  with  the  greatest  of  any  day. 
He  did  not  leave  Jefferson  and  Hamilton  without  the  cab¬ 
inet,  to  shake,  perhaps,  the  whole  fabric  of  government  in 
their  fierce  wars  and  rivalries,  but  he  took  them  within, 
where  he  himself  might  arbitrate  their  disputes  as  they 
arose,  and  turn  to  the  best  account  for  the  country  their 
suggestions  as  they  were  made.”  * 

In  the  meantime  two  political  parties  were  forming 
throughout  the  Union,  under  the  adverse  standards  of 
these  statesmen.  Both  had  the  good  of  the  country  at 
heart,  but  differed  as  to  the  policy  by  which  it  was  to  be 
secured.  The  Federalists,  who  looked  up  to  Hamilton  as 
their  model,  were  in  favor  of  strengthening  the  general  gov¬ 
ernment  so  as  to  give  it  weight  and  dignity  abroad  and  ef¬ 
ficiency  at  home;  to  guard  it  against  the  encroachments  of 
the  individual  States  and  a  general  tendency  to  anarchy. 
The  other  party,  known  as  republicans  or  democrats,  and 
taking  Mr.  Jefferson’s  view  of  affairs,  saw,  in  all  the  meas- 


*  Speech  of  R  M.  T.  Hunter,  of  Virginia. 


19G 


U/orks  of  U/asl?fr)$tor)  IruiQ^ 


ures  advocated  by  the  Federalists,  an  intention  to  convert 
the  Federal  into  a  great  central  or  consolidated  government, 
preparatory  to  a  change  from  a  republic  to  a  monarchy. 

The  particulars  of  General  Harmer’s  expedition  against 
the  Indians,  when  reported  to  Congress,  gave  great  dissatis¬ 
faction.  The  conduct  of  the  troops,  in  suffering  themselves 
to  be  surprised,  was  for  some  time  stigmatized  as  disgraceful. 
Further  troubles  in  that  quarter  were  apprehended,  for  the 
Miamis  were  said  to  be  less  disheartened  by  the  ravage 
of  their  villages  than  exultant  at  the  successful  ambuscades 
of  Little  Turtle. 

Three  Seneca  chiefs,  Cornplanter,  Half  Town,  and  Great 
Tree,  being  at  the  seat  of  government  on  business  of  their 
own  nation,  offered  to  visit  these  belligerent  tribes,  and 
persuade  them  to  bury  the  hatchet.  Washington,  in  a  set 
speech,  encouraged  them  in  the  undertaking.  “By  this 
humane  measure,”  said  he,  “you  will  render  these  mistaken 
people  a  great  service,  and  probably  prevent  their  being 
swept  off  the  face  of  the  earth.  The  United  States  require 
only  that  these  people  should  demean  themselves  peaceably. 
But  they  may  be  assured  that  the  United  States  are  able, 
and  will  most  certainly  punish  them  severely  for  all  their 
robberies  and  murders.” 

Washington  had  always  been  earnest  in  his  desire  to 
civilize  the  savages,  but  had  little  faith  in  the  expedient 
which  had  been  pursued,  of  sending  their  young  men  to 
our  colleges;  the  true  means,  he  thought,  was  to  introduce 
the  arts  and  habits  of  husbandry  among  them.  In  conclud¬ 
ing  his  speech  to  the  Seneca  chiefs,  he  observed,  “When  you 
return  to  your  country,  tell  your  nation  that  it  is  my  desire 
to  promote  their  prosperity  by  teaching  them  the  use  of  do¬ 
mestic  animals,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  white  people 


Cife  of  U/asI?ii?<$toi) 


197 


plow  and  raise  so  much  corn;  and  if,  upon  consideration, 
it  would  be  agreeable  to  the  nation  at  large  to  learn  those 
arts,  I  will  find  some  means  of  teaching  them  at  such  places 
within  their  country  as  shall  be  agreed  upon.” 

In  the  course  of  the  present  session,  Congress  received 
and  granted  the  applications  of  Kentucky  and  Vermont  for 
admission  into  the  Union,  the  former  after  August,  1792; 
the  latter  immediately. 

On  the  3d  of  March  the  term  of  this  first  Congress  ex¬ 
pired.  Washington,  after  reciting  the  various  important 
measures  that  had  been  effected,  testified  to  the  great  har¬ 
mony  and  cordiality  which  had  prevailed.  In  some  few 
instances,  he  admitted,  particularly  in  passing  the  law  for 
higher  duties  on  spirituous  liquors,  and  more  especially  on 
the  subject  of  the  bank,  “the  line  between  the  southern  and 
eastern  interests  had  appeared  more  strongly  marked  than 
could  be  wished,”  the  former  against  and  the  latter  in  favor 
of  those  measures,  “but  the  debates,”  adds  he,  “were  con¬ 
ducted  with  temper  and  candor.” 

As  the  Indians  on  the  northwest  side  of  the  Ohio  still 
continued  their  hostilities,  one  of  the  last  measures  of  Con¬ 
gress  had  been  an  act  to  augment  the  military  establish¬ 
ments,  and  to  place  in  the  hands  of  the  executive  more 
ample  means  for  the  protection  of  the  frontiers.  A  new 
expedition  against  the  belligerent  tribes  had,  in  consequence, 
been  projected.  General  St.  Clair,  actually  governor  of  the 
territory  west  of  the  Ohio,  was  appointed  commander-in¬ 
chief  of  the  forces  to  be  employed. 

W  ashington  had  been  deeply  chagrined  by  the  mortify¬ 
ing  disasters  of  General  Harmer’s  expedition  to  the  Wabash, 
resulting  from  Indian  ambushes.  In  taking  leave  of  his 
old  military  comrade,  St.  Clair,  he  wished  him  success  and 


198 


U/orks  of  U/asi?ir>^tor>  Irvir>$ 


honor,  but  gave  him  a  solemn  warning.  “You  have  your 
instructions  from  the  Secretary  of  War.  I  had  a  strict  eye 
to  them,  and  will  add  but  one  word — Beware  of  a  surprise ! 
You  know  how  the  Indians  fight.  I  repeat  it — Beware  of  a 
surprise /”  With  these  warning  words  sounding  in  his  ear, 
St.  Clair  departed.* 


CHAPTER  THIRTEEN 

Washington’s  Tour  through  the  Southern  States — Letter  to  La¬ 
fayette — Gloomy  Picture  of  French  Affairs  by  Gouverneur 
Morris — His  Allusion  to  Lafayette — Lafayette  depicts  the 
Troubles  of  a  Patriot  Leader — Washington’s  Reply — Jefferson’s 
ardent  Views  of  the  French  Revolution — Distrust  of  John 
Adams — His  Contributions  to  “Fenno’s  Gazette” — Reprint  of 
Paine’s  Rights  of  Man — Flight  and  Recapture  of  Louis  XVI. — 
Jefferson  communicates  the  News  to  Washington — His  satisfac¬ 
tion  when  the  King  accepts  the  Constitution 

\ 

In  the  month  of  March,  Washington  set  out  on  a  tour 
through  the  Southern  States;  traveling  with  cne  set  of 
horses  and  making  occasional  halts.  The  route  projected, 
and  of  which  he  had  marked  off  the  halting  places,  was 
by  Fredericksburg,  Richmond,  Wilmington  (N.  C.),  and 
Charleston  to  Savannah;  thence  to  Augusta,  Columbia, 
and  the  interior  towns  of  North  Carolina  and  Virginia, 
comprising  a  journey  of  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-seven 
miles;  all  which  he  accomplished  without  any  interruption 
from  sickness,  bad  weather,  or  any  untoward  accident.  “In¬ 
deed,”  writes  he,  “so  highly  were  we  favored  that  we 
arrived  at  each  place  where  I  proposed  to  make  any  halt 
on  the  very  day  I  fixed  upon  before  we  set  out.  The  same 


*  Rush’s  Washington  in  Domestic  Life,  p.  67. 


Cife  of  U/asfyip^toi} 


199 


horses  performed  the  whole  tour;  and,  although  much  re¬ 
duced  in  flesh,  kept  up  their  full  spirits  to  the  last  day.” 

He  returned  to  Philadelphia  on  the  6th  of  July,  much 
pleased  with  his  tour.  It  had  enabled  him,  he  said,  to  see 
with  his  own  eyes  the  situation  of  the  country,  and  to  learn 
more  accurately  the  disposition  of  the  people  than  he  could 
have  done  from  any  verbal  information.  He  had  looked 
around  him,  in  fact,  with  a  paternal  eye,  been  cheered  as 
usual  by  continual  demonstrations  of  a  nation’s  love,  and 
his  heart  had  warmed  with  the  reflection  how  much  of  this 
national  happiness  had  been  won  by  his  own  patriotic  exer¬ 
tions. 

“Every  day’s  experience  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States,”  writes  he  to  David  Humphreys,  “seems  to  confirm 
its  establishment,  and  to  render  it  more  popular.  A  ready 
acquiescence  in  the  laws  made  under  it  shows,  in  a  strong 
light,  the  confidence  which  the  people  have  in  their  repre¬ 
sentatives,  and  in  the  upright  views  of  those  who  administer 
the  government.  At  the  time  of  passing  a  law  imposing 
a  duty  on  home-made  spirits,  it  was  vehemently  affirmed 
by  many  that  such  a  law  could  never  be  executed  in  the 
Southern  States,  particularly  in  Virginia  and  South  Caro¬ 
lina.  .  .  .  But  from  the  best  information  I  could  get  on 
my  journey  respecting  its  operations  on  the  minds  of  the 
people — and  I  took  some  pains  to  obtain  information  on  this 
point— -there  remains  not  a  doubt  but  it  will  be  carried  into 
effect,  not  only  without  opposition,  but  with  very  general 

approbation,  in  those  very  parts  where  it  was  foretold  that 

» 

it  never  would  be  submitted  to  by  any  one.” 

“Our  public  credit,”  adds  he,  “stands  on  that  ground, 
which,  three  years  ago,  it  would  have  been  madness  to  have 
foretold.  The  astonishing  rapidity  with  which  the  newly 


200 


U/orl^s  of  U/a8l?ii}$tor)  Irufi)<? 


instituted  bank  was  filled  gives  an  unexampled  proof  of  the 
resources  of  our  countrymen,  and  their  confidence  in  public 
measures.  On  the  first  day  of  opening  the  subscription  the 
whole  number  of  shares  (twenty  thousand)  were  taken  up  in 
one  hour,  and  application  made  for  upward  of  four  thousand 
shares  more  than  were  granted  by  the  institution,  besides 
many  others  that  were  coming  in  from  various  quarters.  ’  ’  * 

To  his  comrade  in  arms,  Lafayette,  he  also  writes  exult- 
ingly  of  the  flourishing  state  of  the  country  and  the  attach¬ 
ment  of  all  classes  to  the  government : 

“While  in  Europe,  wars  or  commotions  seem  to  agitate 
almost  every  nation,  peace  and  tranquillity  prevail  among 
us,  except  in  some  parts  of  our  Western  frontiers,  where  the 
Indians  have  been  troublesome,  to  reclaim  or  chastise  whom 
proper  measures  are  now  pursuing.  This  contrast  between 
the  situation  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  and  those  of 
Europe  is  too  striking  to  be  passed  over,  even  by  the  most 
superficial  observer,  and  may,  I  believe,  be  considered  as  one 
great  cause  of  leading  the  people  here  to  reflect  more  atten¬ 
tively  on  their  own  prosperous  state,  and  to  examine  more 
minutely,  and  consequently  approve  more  fully,  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment  under  which  they  live,  than  they  otherwise  would 
have  done.  But  we  do  not  wish  to  be  the  only  people  who 
may  taste  the  sweets  of  an  equal  and  good  government.  We 
look  with  an  anxious  eye  to  the  time  when  happiness  and 
tranquillity  shall  prevail  in  your  country,  and  when  all  Eu¬ 
rope  shall  be  freed  from  commotion,  tumults  and  alarms.” 

Letters  from  Gouverneur  Morris  had  given  him  a  gloomy 
picture  of  French  affairs.  “This  unhappy  country,”  writes 
he,  “bewildered  in  pursuit  of  metaphysical  whimsies,  pre- 


*  Writings,  x.  171. 


Cife  of  U/asl?ir)<$tor) 


201 


sents  to  our  moral  view  a  mighty  ruin.  Like  the  remnants 
of  ancient  magnificence,  we  admire  the  architecture  of  the 
temple,  while  we  detest  the  false  god  to  whom  it  was  dedi¬ 
cated.  Daws  and  ravens,  and  the  birds  of  night,  now  build 
their  nests  in  its  niches.  The  sovereign,  humbled  to  the 
level  of  a  beggar’s  pity,  without  resources,  without  author¬ 
ity,  without  a  friend.  The  Assembly  at  once  a  master  and 
a  slave,  new  in  power,  wild  in  theory,  raw  in  practice.  It 
engrosses  all  functions,  though  incapable  of  exercising  any, 
and  has  taken  from  this  fierce,  ferocious  people  every  re¬ 
straint  of  religion  and  of  respect.  .  .  .  Lafayette  has  hith¬ 
erto  acted  a  splendid  part.  The  king  obeys  but  detests  him. 
He  obeys  because  he  fears.  Whoever  possesses  the  royal 

• 

person  may  do  whatever  he  pleases  with  the  royal  character 
and  authority.  Hence  it  happens  that  the  ministers  are  of 
Lafayette’s  appointment.”  * 

Lafayette’s  own  letters  depict  the  troubles  of  a  patriot 
leader  in  the  stormy  times  of  a  revolution :  a  leader  warm, 
generous,  honest,  impulsive,  but  not  far-seeing.  “I  continue 
to  be  forever  tossed  about  on  an  ocean  of  factions  and  com¬ 
motions  of  every  kind ;  for  it  is  my  fate  to  be  attacked  with 

v 

equal  animosity;  on  one  side,  by  all  that  is  aristocratic,  ser¬ 
vile,  parliamentary,  in  a  word,  by  all  the  adversaries  of  my 
free  and  leveling  doctrine ;  on  the  other,  by  the  Orleans  and 
anti-monarchial  factions,  and  all  the  workers  of  disorder  and 
pillage.  If  it  is  doubtful  whether  I  may  escape  personally 
from  so  many  enemies,  the  success  of  our  grand  and  good 
revolution  is,  at  least,  thank  Heaven,  assured  in.  France,  and 
soon  it  will  propagate  itself  in  the  rest  of  the  world,  if  we 
succeed  in  establishing  public  order  in  this  country.  Un- 


*  Sparks’  Life  of  G.  Morris,  ii.  117-119. 


202 


U/orl^s  of  U/asbiQ<$top  Iruif)$ 


fortunately,  the  people  have  much  better  learned  how  to 
overturn  despotism  than  to  comprehend  the  duty  of  submis¬ 
sion  to  law.  It  is  to  you,  my  dear  general,  the  patriarch 
and  generalissimo  of  the  promoters  of  universal  liberty,  that 
I  ought  always  to  render  a  faithful  account  of  the  conduct  of 
your  aid-de-camp  in  the  service  of  this  grand  cause.” 

And  in  a  subsequent  letter:  “I  would  that  I  could  give 
you  the  assurance  that  our  troubles  were  terminated  and  our 
constitution  established.  Nevertheless,  though  our  horizon 
is  still  very  dark,  we  commence  to  foresee  the  moment  when 
a  new  legislative  body  will  replace  this  Assembly;  and,  un¬ 
less  there  come  an  intervention  of  foreign  powers,  I  hope 
that  four  months  from  this  your  friend  will  have  resumed 
the  life  of  a  peaceful  and  simple  citizen. 

“The  rage  of  party,  even  between  the  different  shades  of 
patriots,  has  gone  as  far  as  possible  without  the  effusion  of 
blood;  but  if  animosities  are  far  from  subsiding,  present  cir¬ 
cumstances  are  somewhat  less  menacing  of  a  collision  be¬ 
tween  the  different  supporters  of  the  popular  cause.  As  to 
myself,  I  am  always  the  butt  for  attacks  of  all  parties,  be¬ 
cause  they  see  in  my  person  an  insurmountable  obstacle  to 
their  evil  designs.  In  the  meantime,  what  appears  to  me  a 
species  of  phenomenon,  my  popularity  hitherto  has  not  been 
shaken.” 

And  in  another  letter,  he  speaks  of  the  multiplying  dan¬ 
gers  which  menaced  the  progress  of  reform  in  France:  “The 
refugees  hovering  about  the  frontiers,  intrigues  in  most  of 
the  despotic  and  aristocratic  cabinets,  our  regular  army  di¬ 
vided  into  tory  officers  and  undisciplined  soldiers,  licentious  • 
ness  among  the  people  not  easily  repressed,  the  capital,  that 
gives  the  tone  to  the  empire,  tossed  about  by  anti-revolution¬ 
ary  or  factious  parties,  the  Assembly  fatigued  by  hard  labor, 


Cife  of  U/asl?ir)<$toi) 


203 


and  very  unmanageable.  However,  according  to  the  popu¬ 
lar  motto,  ga  ira ,  it  will  do.” 

When  Lafayette  thus  wrote,  faction  was  predominant  at 
Paris.  Liberty  and  equality  began  to  be  the  watch-words, 
and  the  Jacobin  club  had  set  up  a  journal  which  was 
spreading  the  spirit  of  revolt  and  preparing  the  fate  of 
royalty. 

“I  assure  you,”  writes  Washington,  “I  have  often  con¬ 
templated,  with  great  anxiety,  the  danger  to  which  you  are 
personally  exposed  by  your  peculiar  and  delicate  situation  in 
the  tumult  of  the  time,  and  your  letters  are  far  from  quiet  * 
ing  that  friendly  concern.  But  to  one  who  engages  in  haz¬ 
ardous  enterprises  for  the  good  of  his  country,  and  who  is 
guided  by  pure  and  upright  views,  as  I  am  sure  is  the  case 
with  you,  life  is  but  a  secondary  consideration. 

“The  tumultuous  populace  of  large  cities  are  ever  to  be 
dreaded.  Their  indiscriminate  violence  prostrates,  for  the 
time,  all  public  authority,  and  its  consequences  are  some¬ 
times  extensive  and  terrible.  In  Paris,  we  may  suppose 
these  tumults  are  peculiarly  disastrous  at  this  time,  when 
the  public  mind  is  in  a  ferment,  and  when,  as  is  always  the 
case  on  such  occasions,  there  are  not  wanting  wicked  and 
designing  men  whose  element  is  confusion,  and  who  will 
not  hesitate  in  destroying  the  public  tranquillity  to  gain  a 
favorite  point.” 

Sympathy  with  the  popular  cause  prevailed  with  a  part 
of  Washington’s  cabinet.  Jefferson  was  ardent  in  his  wishes 
that  the  revolution  might  be  established.  He  felt,  he  said, 
that  the  permanence  of  our  own  revolution  leaned,  in  some 
degree,  on  that  of  France;  that  a  failure  there  would  be  a 
powerful  argument  to  prove  there  must  be  a  failure  here, 
and  that  the  success  of  the  French  revolution  was  necessary 


204 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?io$tor)  Iruir)<$ 


to  stay  lip  our  own  and  “prevent  its  falling  back  to  that  kind 
of  half-way  house,  the  English  constitution.” 

Outside  of  the  cabinet,  the  Vice-President,  John  Adams, 
regarded  the  French  revolution  with  strong  distrust.  His 
official  position,  however,  was  too  negative  in  its  nature  to 
afford  him  an  opportunity  of  exerting  influence  on  public 
affairs.  He  considered  the  post  of  Vice-President  beneath 
his  talents.  “My  country,”  writes  he,  “has,  in  its  wisdom, 
contrived  for  me  the  most  insignificant  office  that  ever  the 
invention  of  man  contrived  or  his  imagination  conceived.”  * 
Impatient  of  a  situation  in  which,  as  he  said,  he  could  do 
neither  good  nor  evil,  he  resorted,  for  mental  relief,  to  the 
press,  and  for  upward  of  a  year  had  exercised  his  fertile  and 
ever  ready  pen  in  furnishing  “Fenno’s  Gazette  of  the  United 
States”  with  a  series  of  papers  entitled,  Discourses  on  Davi¬ 
la,  being  an  analysis  of  Davila’s  History  of  the  Civil  Wars 
of  France  in  the  16th  century.  The  aim  of  Mr.  Adams,  in 
this  series,  was  to  point  out  to  his  countrymen  the  dangers 
to  be  apprehended  from  powerful  factions  in  ill-balanced 
forms  of  government;  but  his  aim  was  mistaken,  and  he 
was  charged  with  advocating  monarchy,  and  laboring  to 
prepare  the  way  for  a  hereditary  presidency.  To  counter¬ 
act  these  “political  heresies,”  a  reprint  of  Paine’s  Rights  of 
Man,  written  in  reply  to  Burke’s  pamphlet  on  the  French 
revolution,  appeared  under  the  auspices  of  Mr.  Jefferson. 

While  the  public  mind  was  thus  agitated  with  conflicting 
opinions,  news  arrived  in  August,  of  the  flight  of  Louis  XVI. 
from  Paris,  and  his  recapture  at  Varennes.  All  Jefferson’s 
hatred  of  royalty  was  aroused  by  this  breach  of  royal  faith. 
“Such  are  the  fruits  of  that  form  of  government,”  said  he, 


*  Life,  i.  460. 


Cife  of  U/asI?ir)$tor) 


205 


scornfully,  “ which  heaps  importance  on  idiots,  and  which 
the  tories  of  the  present  day  are  trying  to  preach  into  our 
favor.  It  would  be  unfortunate  were  it  in  the  power  of  any 
one  man  to  defeat  the  issue  of  so  beautiful  a  revolution.  I 
hope  and  trust  that  it  is  not,  and  that,  for  the  good  of  suf¬ 
fering  humanity  all  over  the  earth,  that  revolution  will  be 
established  and  spread  all  over  the  world.” 

He  was  the  first  to  communicate  the  intelligence  to  Wash¬ 
ington,  who  was  holding  one  of  his  levees,  and  observes,  “I 
never  saw  him  so  much  dejected  by  any  event  in  my  life.” 
Washington  himself  declares  that  he  remained  for  some  time 
in  painful  suspense,  as  to  what  would  be  the  consequences  of 
this  event.  Ultimately,  when  news  arrived  that  the  king 
had  accepted  the  constitution  from  the  hands  of  the  National 
Assembly,  he  hailed  the  event  as  promising  happy  conse¬ 
quences  to  France  and  to  mankind  in  general;  and  what 
added  to  his  joy  was  the  noble  and  disinterested  part  which 
his  friend,  Lafayette,  had  acted  in  this  great  drama.  “The 
prayers  and  wishes  of  the  human  race,”  writes  he  to  the 
marquis,  “have  attended  the  exertions  of  your  nation;  and 
when  your  affairs  are  settled  under  an  energetic  and  equal 
government,  the  hearts  of  all  good  men  will  be  satisfied.” 


U/or^s  of  U/asl?ir)$toi>  Iruip$ 


806 


CHAPTER  FOURTEEN 

Rural  Hours  at  Mount  Vernon — Assembling  of  Second  Congress— 
Washington’s  opening  Speech — Two  Expeditions  organized 
against  the  Indians,  under  Scott  and  Wilkinson — Their  feeble 
Result — Third  Expedition  under  St.  Clair — His  disastrous  Con¬ 
test  and  dismal  Retreat — How  Washington  received  the  In¬ 
telligence 

A  few  weeks  of  autumn  were  passed  by  Washington  at 
Mount  Vernon,  with  his  family,  in  rural  enjoyment,  and  in 
instructing  a  new  agent,  Mr.  Robert  Lewis,  in  the  manage¬ 
ment  of  his  estate;  his  nephew,  Major  George  A.  Washing¬ 
ton,  who  ordinarily  attended  to  his  landed  concerns,  being 
absent  among  the  mountains  in  quest  of  health. 

The  second  Congress  assembled  at  Philadelphia  on  the 
24th  of  October,  and  on  the  25th  Washington  delivered  his 
opening  speech.  After  remarking  upon  the  prosperous  situ¬ 
ation  of  the  country,  and  the  success  which  had  attended  its 
financial  measures,  he  adverted  to  the  offensive  operations 
against  the  Indians,  which  government  had  been  compelled 
to  adopt  for  the  protection  of  the  Western  frontier.  Some  of 
these  operations,  he  observed,  had  been  successful,  others 
were  still  depending.  A  brief  statement  will  be  sufficient  of 
the  successful  operations  alluded  to.  To  reconcile  some  of 
the  people  of  the  West  to  the  appointment  of  General  St. 
Clair  as  commander-in-chief  in  that  quarter,  a  local  board  of 
war  had  been  formed  for  the  Western  country,  empowered 
to  act  in  conjunction  with  the  commanding  officer  of  the 
United  States,  in  calling  out  the  militia,  sending  out  expe- 


Cife  of  U/asbir^top 


207 


ditions  against  the  Indians,  and  apportioning  scouts  through 
the  exposed  parts  of  the  district  of  Kentucky. 

Under  this  arrangement,  two  expeditions  had  been  organ¬ 
ized  in  Kentucky  against  the  villages  on  the  Wabash.  The 
first,  in  May,  was  led  by  General  Charles  Scott,  having  Gen¬ 
eral  Wilkinson  as  second  in  command  The  second,  a  vol¬ 
unteer  enterprise,  in  August,  was  led  by  Wilkinson  alone. 
Very  little  good  was  effected,  or  glory  gained  by  either  of 
these  expeditions.  Indian  villages  and  wigwams  were 
burned,  and  fields  laid  waste;  some  few  warriors  were 
killed  and  prisoners  taken,  and  an  immense  expense  in¬ 
curred. 

Of  the  events  of  a  third  enterprise,  led  by  General  St. 
Clair  himself,  no  tidings  had  been  received  at  the  time  of 
Washington’s  opening  speech;  but  we  will  anticipate  the 
official  dispatches,  and  proceed  to  show  how  it  fared  with 
that  veteran  soldier,  and  how  far  he  profited  by  the  impres¬ 
sive  warning  which  he  had  received  from  the  President  at 
parting. 

The  troops  for  his  expedition  assembled  early  in  Septem¬ 
ber,  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Washington  (flow  Cincinnati). 
There  were  about  two  thousand  regulars,  and  one  thousand 
militia.  The  regulars  included  a  corps  of  artillery  and  sev¬ 
eral  squadrons  of  horse.  An  arduous  task  was  before  them. 
Roads  were  to  be  opened  through  a  wilderness;  bridges  con- 
structed  for  the  conveyance  of  artillery  and  stores,  and  forts 
to  be  built  so  as  to  keep  up  a  line  of  communication  between 
the  Wabash  and  the  Ohio,  the  base  of  operations.  The 

i 

troops  commenced  their  march  directly  north,  on  the  6th  or 
7th  of  September,  cutting  their  way  through  the  woods,  and 
slowly  constructing  the  line  of  forts.  The  little  army,  on  the 
24th  of  October,  according  to  the  diary  of  an  officer,  was  re- 


208 


U/orl^s  of  U/as^ir>^tor)  Irvii)$ 


spectable  in  numbers— “upon  paper’ * — but,  adds  he,  “the 
absence  of  the  first  regiment,  and  desertions  from  the  mili¬ 
tia,  had  very  much  reduced  us.  With  the  residue  there  was 
too  generally  wanting  the  essential  stamina  of  soldiers. 
Picked  up  and  recruited  from  the  off-scourings  of  large 
towns  and  cities,  enervated  by  idleness,  debauchery,  and 
every  species  of  vice,  it  was  impossible  they  could  have  been 
made  competent  to  the  arduous  duties  of  Indian  warfare. 
An  extraordinary  aversion  to  service  was  also  conspicuous 
among  them  and  demonstrated  by  repeated  desertions;  in 
many  instances,  to  the  very  foe  we  were  to  combat.  The 
late  period  at  which  they  had  been  brought  into  the  field  left 
no  leisure  nor  opportunity  to  discipline  them.  They  were, 
moreover,  badly  clothed,  badly  paid,  and  badly  fed.  .  .  . 
The  military  stores  and  arms  were  sent  on  in  infamous  or¬ 
der.  Notwithstanding  pointed  orders  against  firing,  and  a 
penalty  of  one  hundred  lashes,  game  was  so  plenty  and  pre¬ 
sented  such  a  strong  temptation  that  the  militia  and  the 
levies  were  constantly  offending,  to  the  great  injury  of  the 
service  and  the  destruction  of  all  order  in  the  army.”  * 

After  placing  garrisons  in  the  forts,  the  general  continued 
his  march.  It  was  a  forced  one  with  him,  for  he  was  so 
afflicted  with  the  gout  that  he  could  not  walk,  and  had  to  be 
helped  on  and  off  of  his  horse ;  but  his  only  chance  to  keep 
his  little  army  together  was  to  move  on.  A  number  of  the 
Virginia  troops  had  already,  on  the  27th  of  October,  insisted 
on  their  discharges;  there  was  danger  that  the  whole  bat¬ 
talion  would  follow  their  example,  and  the  time  of  the  other 
battalions  was  nearly  up.  The  plan  of  the  general  was  to 


*  Diary  of  Col.  Winthrop  Sargent,  Adjutant-general  of 
the  U.  S.  army  during  the  campaign  of  1791. 


Cife  of  U/asI?ir)<$tor) 


209 


push  so  far  into  the  enemy’s  country  that  such  detachments 
as  might  be  entitled  to  their  discharges  would  be  afraid  to 
return. 

The  army  had  proceeded  six  days  after  leaving  Fort  Jef¬ 
ferson,  and  were  drawing  near  a  part  of  the  country  where 
they  were  likely  to  meet  with  Indians,  when,  on  the  30th  of 
October,  sixty  of  the  militia  deserted  in  a  body ;  intending  to 
supply  themselves  by  plundering  the  convoys  of  provisions 
which  were  coming  forward  in  the  rear.  The  1st  United 
States  regiment,  under  Major  Hamtranck,  was  detached  to 
march  back  beyond  Fort  Jefferson,  apprehend  these  desert¬ 
ers,  if  possible,  and  at  all  events  prevent  the  provisions  that 
might  be  on  the  way  from  being  rifled.  The  force  thus  de¬ 
tached  consisted  of  three  hundred  of  the  best  disciplined  men 
in  the  service,  with  experienced  officers. 

Thus  reduced  to  1,400  effective  rank  and  file,  the  army 
continued  its  march  to  a  point  about  twenty-nine  miles  from 
Fort  Jefferson,  and  ninety-seven  from  Fort  Washington, 
and  fifteen  miles  south  of  the  Miami  villages,  where  it  en¬ 
camped,  November  3d,  on  a  rising  ground  with  a  stream 
forty  feet  wide  in  front,  running  westerly.  This  stream 
was  mistaken  by  General  St.  Clair  for  the  St.  Mary,  which 
empties  itself  into  the  Miami  of  the  lakes;  but  it  was,  in 
fact,  a  tributary  of  the  Wabash. 

A  number  of  new  and  old  Indian  camps  showed  that  this 
had  been  a  place  of  general  resort ;  and  in  the  bends  of  the 
stream  were  tracks  of  a  party  of  fifteen,  horse  and  foot;  a 
scouting  party  most  probably,  which  must  have  quitted  the 
ground  just  before  the  arrival  of  the  army. 

The  troops  were  encamped  in  two  lines,  the  right  wing 
composed  of  Butler,  Clarke  and  Patterson’s  battalions,  com¬ 
manded  by  Major-general  Butler,  forming  the  first  line;  Pat- 


*10 


U/orks  of  U/a8f?ir>$tor)  Iruii?$ 


terson  on  the  right,  and  four  pieces  of  artillery  on  the  right 
of  Butler.  The  left  wing,  consisting  of  Beddinger  and  Gaith¬ 
er’s  battalions,  and  the  second  United  States  regiment,  com¬ 
manded  by  Colonel  Darke,  formed  the  second  line;  with  an 
interval  of  about  seventy  yards,  which  was  all  that  the 
ground  allowed.  The  length  of  the  lines  was  nearly  four 
hundred  yards;  the  rear  somewhat  more,  and  the  front 
somewhat  less.  A  troop  of  horse,  commanded  by  Captain 
Truman,  and  a  company  of  riflemen  under  Captain  Faulk¬ 
ner,  were  upon  the  right  flank,  and  Snowden’s  troop  of  horse 
on  the  left. 

The  ground  descended  gradually  in  front  of  the  encamp¬ 
ment  to  the  stream,  which,  at  this  time,  was  fordable,  and 
meandered  in  its  course ;  in  some  places,  one  hundred  yards 
distant  from  the  camp,  in  others  not  more  than  twenty-five. 
The  immediate  spot  of  the  encampment  was  very  defensible 
against  regular  troops ;  but  it  was  surrounded  by  close  woods, 
dense  thickets,  and  the  trunks  of  fallen  trees,  with  here  and 
there  a  ravine,  and  a  small  swamp — all  the  best  kind  of  cover 
for  stealthy  Indian  warfare. 

The  militia  were  encamped  beyond  the  stream  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  in  the  advance,  on  a  high  flat;  a  much 
more  favorable  position  than  that  occupied  by  the  main 
body;  and  capacious  enough  to  have  accommodated  the 
whole,  and  admitted  any  extent  of  lines. 

It  was  the  intention  of  St.  Clair  to  throw  up  a  slight 
work  on  the  following  day,  and  to  move  on  to  the  attack  of 
the  Indian  villages  as  soon  as  he  should  be  rejoined  by  Ma¬ 
jor  Hamtranck  and  the  first  United  States  regiment.  The 
plan  of  this  work  he  concerted  in  the  evening  with  Major 
Ferguson  of  the  artillery,  a  cool,  indefatigable,  determined 
man.  In  the  meantime,  Colonel  Oldham,  the  commanding 


Cife  of  U/asl?ir}<$tor) 


211 


officer  of  the  militia,  was  directed  to  send  out  two  detach¬ 
ments  that  evening,  to  explore  the  country  and  gain  informa¬ 
tion  concerning  the  enemy.  The  militia,  however,  showed 
signs  of  insubordination.  They  complained  of  being  too 
much  fatigued  for  the  purpose;  in  short,  the  service  was 
not,  and  probably  could  not  be,  enforced.  Sentinels  posted 
around  the  camp,  about  fifty  paces  distant  from  each  other, 
formed  the  principal  security. 

About  half  an  hour  before  sunrise  on  the  next  morning 
(Nov.  4th),  and  just  after  the  troops  had  been  dismissed  on 
parade,  a  horrible  sound  burst  forth  from  the  woods  around 
the  militia  camp,  resembling,  says  an  officer,  the  jangling  of 
an  infinitude  of  horse  bells.  It  was  the  direful  Indian  yell, 
followed  by  the  sharp  reports  of  the  deadly  rifle.  The  mi¬ 
litia  returned  a  feeble  fire  and  then  took  to  flight,  dashing 
helter-skelter  into  the  other  camp.  The  first  line  of  the  Con¬ 
tinental  troops,  which  was  hastily  forming,  was  thrown  into 
disorder.  The  Indians  were  close  upon  the  heels  of  the  fly¬ 
ing  militia,  and  would  have  entered  the  camp  with  them,  but 
the  sight  of  troops  drawn  up  with  fixed  bayonets  to  receive 
them  checked  their  ardor,  and  they  threw  themselves  be¬ 
hind  logs  and  bushes  at  the  distance  of  seventy  yards;  and 
immediately  commenced  an  attack  upon  the  first  line,  which 
soon  was  extended  to  the  second.  The  great  weight  of  the 
attack  was  upon  the  center  of  each  line  where  the  artillery 
was  placed.  The  artillery,  if  not  well  served,  was  bravely 
fought;  a  quantity  of  canister  and  some  round  shot  were 
thrown  in  the  direction  whence  the  Indians  fired ;  but,  con¬ 
cealed  as  they  were,  and  only  seen  occasionally  as  they 
sprang  from  one  covert  to  another,  it  was  impossible  to  di¬ 
rect  the  pieces  to  advantage.  The  artillerists  themselves 
were  exposed  to  a  murderous  fire,  and  every  officer,  and 


212 


U/orl^s  of  U/as^ip^tor)  Iruir}<$ 


more  than  two-thirds  of  the  men  were  killed  and  wounded. 
Twice  the  Indians  pushed  into  the  camp,  delivering  their 
fire  and  then  rushing  on  with  the  tomahawk,  but  each  time 
they  were  driven  back.  General  Butler  had  been  shot  from 
his  horse,  and  was  sitting  down  to  have  his  wound  dressed, 
when  a  daring  savage,  darting  into  the  camp,  tomahawked 
and  scalped  him.  He  failed  to  carry  off  his  trophy,  being 
instantly  slain. 

The  veteran  St.  Clair,  who,  unable  to  mount  his  horse, 
was  borne  about  on  a  litter,  preserved  his  coolness  in  the 
midst  of  the  peril  and  disaster,  giving  his  orders  with  judg¬ 
ment  and  self-possession.  Seeing  to  what  disadvantage  his 
troops  fought  with  a  concealed  enemy,  he  ordered  Colonel 
Darke,  with  his  regiment  of  regulars,  to  rouse  the  Indians 
from  their  covert  with  the  bayonet,  and  turn  their  left  flank. 
This  was  executed  with  great  spirit :  the  enemy  were  driven 
three  or  four  hundred  yards;  but,  for  want  of  cavalry  or 
riflemen,  the  pursuit  slackened,  and  the  troops  were  forced 
to  give  back  in  turn.  The  savages  had  now  got  into  the 
camp  by  the  left  flank ;  again  several  charges  were  made, 
but  in  vain.  Great  carnage  was  suffered  from  the  enemy 
concealed  in  the  woods;  every  shot  seemed  to  take  effect;  all 
the  officers  of  the  second  regiment  were  picked  off  excepting 
three.  The  contest  had  now  endured  for  more  than  two 
hours  and  a  half.  The  spirits  of  the  troops  flagged  under 
the  loss  of  the  officers ;  half  of  the  army  was  killed,  and  the 
situation  of  the  remainder  was  desperate.  There  appeared 
to  be  no  alternative  but  a  retreat. 

At  half-past  nine,  General  St.  Clair  ordered  Colonel 
Darke,  with  the  second  regiment,  to  make  another  charge, 
as  if  to  turn  the  right  wing  of  the  enemy,  but,  in  fact,  to  re¬ 
gain  the  road  from  which  the  army  was  cut  off.  This  object 


Cifc  of  U/a8l?ii)$(:or) 


2l3 


was  effected.  ‘‘Having  collected  in  one  body  the  greatest 
part  of  the  troops,”  writes  one  of  the  officers,  “and  such  of 
the  wounded  as  could  possibly  hobble  along  with  us,  we 
pushed  out  from  the  left  of  the  rear  line,  sacrificing  our  ar¬ 
tillery  and  baggage.”  Some  of  the  wounded  officers  were 
brought  off  on  horses,  but  several  of  the  disabled  men  had 
to  be  left  on  the  ground.  The  poor  fellows  charged  their 
pieces  before  they  were  left:  and  the  firing  of  musketry 
heard  by  the  troops  after  they  quitted  the  camp  told  that 
their  unfortunate  comrades  were  selling  their  lives  dear. 

It  was  a  disorderly  flight.  The  troops  threw  away  arms, 
ammunition  and  accouterments;  even  the  officers,  in  some 
instances,  divested  themselves  of  their  fusees.  The  general 
was  mounted  on  a  pack  horse  which  could  not  be  pricked 
out  of  a  walk.  Fortunately,  the  enemy  did  not  pursue 
above  a  mile  or  two,  returning,  most  probably,  to  plunder 
the  camp. 

By  seven  in  the  evening,  the  fugitives  reached  Fort  Jef¬ 
ferson,  a  distance  of  twenty-nine  miles.  Here  they  met  Ma¬ 
jor  Hamtranck  with  the  first  regiment;  but,  as  this  force 
was  far  from  sufficient  to  make  up  for  the  losses  of  the  morn¬ 
ing,  the  retreat  was  continued  to  Fort  Washington,  where 
the  army  arrived  on  the  8th  at  noon,  shattered  and  broken  - 
spirited.  Many  poor  fellows  fell  behind  in  the  retreat,  and 
fancying  the  savages  were  upon  them,  left  the  road,  and 
some  of  them  were  wandering  several  days,  until  nearly 
starved . 

In  this  disastrous  battle  the  whole  loss  of  regular  troops 
and  levies  amounted  to  five  hundred  and  fifty  killed,  and 
two  hundred  wounded.  Out  of  ninety-five  commissioned 
officers  who  were  on  the  field,  thirty-one  were  slain  and 
twenty-four  wounded.  Of  the  three  hundred  and  nineteen 


214 


Worlds  of  U/asbffi^tor)  Iruir>^ 


militia,  Colonel  Oldham  and  three  other  officers  were  killed 
and  five  wounded ;  and  of  non-commissioned  officers  and  pri¬ 
vates,  thirty-eight  were  killed  and  twenty-nine  wounded. 
Fourteen  artificers  and  ten  pack  horsemen  were  also  killed, 
and  thirteen  wounded.  So  that,  according  to  Colonel  Sar¬ 
gent’s  estimate,  the  whole  loss  amounted  to  six  hundred  and 
seventy-seven  killed,  including  thirty  women,  and  two  hun¬ 
dred  and  seventy-one  wounded. 

Poor  St.  Clair’s  defeat  has  been  paralleled  with  that  of 
Braddock.  No  doubt,  when  he  realized  the  terrible  havoc 
that  had  been  made,  he  thought  sadly  of  Washington’s  part¬ 
ing  words,  “Beware  of  a  surprise!” 

We  have  a  graphic  account  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
intelligence  of  the  disaster  was  received  by  Washington,  at 
Philadelphia.  Toward  the  close  of  a  winter’s  day  in  De¬ 
cember,  an  officer  in  uniform  dismounted  in  front  of  the 
President’s  house,  and,  giving  the  bridle  to  his  servant, 
knocked  at  the  door.  He  was  informed  by  the  porter  that 
the  President  was  at  dinner  and  had  company.  The  officer 
was  not  to  be  denied ;  he  was  on  public  business,  he  brought 
dispatches  for  the  President.  A  servant  was  sent  into  the 
dining-room  to  communicate  the  matter  to  Mr.  Lear.  The 
latter  left  the  table  and  went  into  the  hall,  where  the  officer 
repeated  what  he  had  said  to  the  porter.  Mr.  Lear,  as  secre¬ 
tary  of  the  President,  offered  to  take  charge  of  the  dispatches 
and  deliver  them  at  the  proper  time.  The  officer  replied  that 
he  was  just  arrived  from  the  Western  army;  his  orders  were 
to  deliver  the  dispatches  promptly  to  the  President  in  person ; 
but  that  he  would  wait  his  directions.  Mr.  Lear  returned, 
and,  in  a  whisper,  communicated  to  the  President  what  had 
passed.  Washington  rose  from  the  table  and  went  into  the 
hall,  whence  he  returned  in  a  short  time  and  resumed  his 


Cife  of  U/asf?iQ<$tOQ 


215 


seat,  apologizing  for  his  absence,  but  without  alluding  to  the 
cause  of  it.  One  of  the  company,  however,  overheard  him, 
as  he  took  his  seat,  mutter  to  himself,  with  an  ejaculation  of 
extreme  impatience,  “I  knew  it  would  be  so!” 

Mrs.  Washington  held  her  drawing-room  that  evening. 
The  gentlemen  repaired  thither  from  the  table.  Washing¬ 
ton  appeared  there  with  his  usual  serenity ;  speaking  courte¬ 
ously  to  every  lady,  as  was  his  custom.  By  ten  o’clock  all 
the  company  had  gone;  Mrs.  Washington  retired  soon  after, 
and  Washington  and  his  secretary  alone  remained. 

The  general  walked  slowly  backward  and  forward  for 
some  minutes  in  silence.  As  yet  there  had  been  no  change 
in  his  manner.  Taking  a  seat  on  a  sofa  by  the  fire  he  told 
Mr.  Lear  to  sit  down ;  the  latter  had  scarce  time  to  notice 
that  he  was  extremely  agitated,  when  he  broke  out  suddenly: 
“It’s  all  over! — St.  Clair’s  defeated! — routed:  the  officers 
nearly  all  killed,  the  men  by  wholesale ;  the  rout  complete ; 
too  shocking  to  think  of,  and  a  surprise  into  the  bargain !  ’  ’ 
All  this  was  uttered  with  great  vehemence.  Then  pausing 
and  rising  from  the  sofa,  he  walked  up  and  down  the  room 
in  silence,  violently  agitated,  but  saying  nothing.  When 
near  the  door  he  stopped  short;  stood  still  for  a  few  mo¬ 
ments,  when  there  was  another  terrible  explosion  of  wrath. 

“Yes,”  exclaimed  he,  “here,  on  this  very  spot,  I  took 
leave  of  him;  I  wished  him  success  and  honor.  ‘You  have 
your  instructions  from  the  Secretary  of  War,’  said  I,  ‘I  had 
a  strict  eye  to  them,  and  will  add  but  one  word,  Beware  of 
a  surprise!  You  know  how  the  Indians  fight  us.  I  re¬ 
peat  it,  Beware  of  a  surprise!’  He  went  off  with  that, 
my  last  warning,  thrown  into  his  ears.  And  yet!!  To 
suffer  that  army  to  be  cut  to  pieces,  hacked,  butchered, 
tomahawked,  by  a  surprise — the  very  thing  1  guarded  him 


216 


U/orJ^s  of  U/asl?ii7<$l:or}  IrviQ$ 


Against — Oh  God!  oh  God!”  exclaimed  he,  throwing  up  his 
hands,  and  while  his  very  frame  shook  with  emotion,  “he’s 
worse  than  a  murderer !  How  can  he  answer  it  to  his  coun¬ 
try!  The  blood  of  the  slain  is  upon  him — the  curse  of  wid¬ 
ows  and  orphans — the  curse  of  Heaven!” 

Mr.  Lear  remained  speechless;  awed  into  breathless  si¬ 
lence  by  the  appalling  tones  in  which  this  torrent  of  invective 
was  poured  forth.  The  paroxysm  passed  by.  Washington 
again  sat  down  on  the  sofa — he  was  silent — apparently  un¬ 
comfortable,  as  if  conscious  of  the  ungovernable  burst  of 
passion  which  had  overcome  him.  “This  must  not  go  be¬ 
yond  this  room,”  said  he  at  length,  in  a  subdued  and  altered 
tone — there  was  another  and  a  longer  pause ;  then,  in  a  tone 
quite  low:  “General  St.  Clair  shall  have  justice,”  said  he. 
“I  looked  hastily  through  the  dispatches;  saw  the  whole  dis¬ 
aster,  but  not  all  the  particulars.  I  will  receive  him  without 
displeasure;  I  will  hear  him  without  prejudice;  he  shall  have 
full  justice.”  * 

W ashington  had  recovered  his  equanimity.  ‘  ‘  The  storm,  *  ’ 
we  are  told,  “was  over,  and  no  sign  of  it  w~as  afterward  seen 
in  his  conduct  or  heard  in  his  conversation.”  How  well  he 
kept  his  word  in  regard  to  General  St.  Clair  will  hereafter 
be  shown. 


*  Rush’s  Washington  in  Domestic  Life. 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii?<$toi) 


217 


CHAPTER  FIFTEEN. 

The  Apportionment  Bill — Washington’s  Veto — His  Concern  at  the 
growing  Asperities  of  Congress — Intended  Retirement — Jeffer¬ 
son’s  determination  to  retire  at  the  same  Time  —Remonstrance 
of  Washington — His  Request  to  Madison  to  prepare  Valedictory 
— Wayne  appointed  to  succeed  St.  Clair — Congress  adjourns — 
Washington  at  Mount  Vernon — Suggests  Topics  for  his  Fare¬ 
well  Address — Madison’s  Draft — Jefferson  urges  his  continu¬ 
ance 

In  the  course  of  the  present  session  of  Congress  a  bill 
was  introduced  for  apportioning  representatives  among  the 
people  of  the  several  States,  according  to  the  first  enu¬ 
meration. 

The  constitution  had  provided  that  the  number  of  repre¬ 
sentatives  should  not  exceed  one  for  every  thirty  thousand 
persons,  and  the  House  of  Representatives  passed  a  bill  allot¬ 
ting  to  each  State  one  member  for  this  amount  of  population. 
This  ratio  would  leave  a  fraction,  greater  or  less,  in  each 
State.  Its  operation  was  unequal,  as  in  some  States  a  large 
surplus  would  be  unrepresented,  and  hence,  in -one  branch  of 
the  legislature,  the  relative  power  of  the  State  be  affected. 
That,  too,  was  the  popular  branch,  which  those  who  feared 
a  strong  executive  desired  to  provide  with  the  counterpoise 
of  as  full  a  representation  as  possible. 

To  obviate  this  difficulty  the  Senate  adopted  a  new  prin¬ 
ciple  of  apportionment.  They  assumed  the  total  population 
of  the  United  States,  and  not  the  population  of  each  State, 

as  the  basis  on  which  the  whole  number  of  representatives 

Vol.  XV.— : ***io 


218 


ll/orl^s  of  U/as^ip^toi>  Iruiq$ 


should  be  ascertained.  This  aggregate  they  divided  by 
thirty  thousand :  the  quotient  gave  one  hundred  and  twenty 
as  the  number  of  representatives ;  and  this  number  they  ap¬ 
portioned  upon  the  several  States  according  to  their  popula¬ 
tion  ;  allotting  to  each  one  member  for  every  thirty  thousand, 
and  distributing  the  residuary  members  (to  make  up  the  one 
hundred  and  twenty)  among  the  States  having  the  largest 
fractions. 

After  an  earnest  debate,  the  House  concurred,  and  the 
bill  came  before  the  President  for  his  decision.  The  sole 
question  was  as  to  its  constitutionality ;  that  being  admitted, 
it  was  unexceptionable.  Washington  took  the  opinion  of  his 
cabinet.  Jefferson  and  Randolph  considered  the  act  at  vari¬ 
ance  with  the  constitution.  Knox  was  undecided.  Hamil¬ 
ton  thought  the  clause  of  the  constitution  relating  to  the  sub¬ 
ject  somewhat  vague,  and  was  in  favor  of  the  construction 
given  to  it  by  the  legislature. 

After  weighing  the  arguments  on  both  sides,  and  ma¬ 
turely  deliberating,  the  President  made  up  his  mind  that  the 
act  was  unconstitutional.  It  was  the  obvious  intent  of  the 
constitution  to  apply  the  ratio  of  representation  according  to 
the  separate  members  of  each  State,  and  not  to  the  aggre¬ 
gate  of  the  population  of  the  United  States.  How  this  bill 
allotted  to  eight  of  the  States  more  than  one,  representative 
for  thirty  thousand  inhabitants.  He  accordingly  returned 
the  bill  with  his  objections,  being  the  first  exercise  of  the 
veto  power.  A  new  bill  was  substituted,  and  passed  into  a 
law ;  giving  a  representative  for  every  thirty- three  thousand 
to  each  State. 

Great  heat  and  asperity  were  manifested  in  the  discus¬ 
sions  of  Congress  throughout  the  present  session.  Washing¬ 
ton  had  observed  with  pain  the  political  divisions  which  were 


Cife  of  U/asl?iQ$toi} 


219 


growing  up  in  the  country ;  and  was  deeply  concerned  at 
finding  that  they  were  pervading  the  halls  of  legislation. 
The  press,  too,  was  contributing  its  powerful  aid  to  keep  up 
and  increase  the  irritation.  Two  rival  papers  existed  at  the 
seat  of  government;  one  was  “Fenno’s  Gazette  of  the  United 
States,”  in  which  John  Adams  had  published  his  Discourses 
on  Davila;  the  other  was  the  “National  Gazette,”  edited  by 
Philip  Freneau.  Freneau  had  been  editor  of  the  “New  York 
Daily  Advertiser,”  but  had  come  to  Philadelphia  in  the  au¬ 
tumn  of  1791  to  occupy  the  post  of  translating  clerk  in  Mr. 
Jefferson’s  office,  and  had  almost  immediately  (Oct.  31)  pub¬ 
lished  the  first  number  of  his  “Gazette.”  Notwithstanding 
his  situation  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  Freneau 
became,  and  continued  to  be  throughout  the  session,  a  viru¬ 
lent  assailant  of  most  of  the  measures  of  government ;  ex¬ 
cepting  such  as  originated  with  Mr.  Jefferson,  or  were  ap¬ 
proved  by  him. 

Heart-weary  by  the  political  strifes  and  disagreements 
which  were  disturbing  the  country  and  marring  the  harmony 
of  his  cabinet,  the  charge  of  government  was  becoming  in¬ 
tolerably  irksome  to  Washington;  and  he  longed  to  be  re¬ 
leased  from  it,  and  to  be  once  more  master  of  himself,  free 
to  indulge  those  rural  and  agricultural  tastes  which  were  to 
give  verdure  and  freshness  to  his  future  existence.  He  had 
some  time  before  this  expressed  a  determination  to  retire 
from  public  life  at  the  end  of  his  presidential  term.  But  one 
more  year  of  that  term  remained  to  be  endured ;  he  was  con¬ 
gratulating  himself  with  the  thought,  when  Mr.  Jefferson 
intimated  that  it  was  his  intention  to  retire  from  office  at 
the  same  time  with  himself. 

Washington  was  exceedingly  discomposed  by  this  deter= 
mination.  Jefferson,  in  his  Anas,  assures  us  that  the  Presi 


220 


U/orl^s  of  U/a8^ip^tor> 


dent  remonstrated  with  him  against  it,  “in  an  affectionate 
tone.”  For  his  own  part,  he  observed,  many  motives  com¬ 
pelled  him  to  retire.  It  was  only  after  much  pressing  that 
he  had  consented  to  take  a  part  in  the  new  government  and 
get  it  under  way.  Were  he  to  continue  in  it  longer,  it  might 
give  room  to  say  that,  having  tasted  the  sweets  of  office,  he 
could  not  do  without  them. 

He  observed,  moreover,  to  Jefferson  that  he  really  felt 
himself  growing  old ;  that  his  bodily  health  was  less  firm, 
and  his  memory,  always  bad,  was  becoming  worse.  The 
other  faculties  of  his  mind,  perhaps,  might  be  evincing  to 
others  a  decay  of  which  he  himself  might  be  insensible. 
This  apprehension,  he  said,  particularly  oppressed  him. 

His  activity,  too,  had  declined ;  business  was  consequently 
more  irksome,  and  the  longing  for  tranquillity  and  retire¬ 
ment  had  become  an  irresistible  passion.  For  these  reasons 
he  felt  himself  obliged,  he  said,  to  retire;  yet  he  should 
consider  it  unfortunate  if,  in  so  doing,  he  should  bring  on 
the  retirement  of  the  great  officers  of  government,  which 
might  produce  a  shock  on  the  public  mind  of  a  dangerous 
consequence. 

Jefferson,  in  reply,  stated  the  reluctance  with  which  he 
himself  had  entered  upon  public  employment,  and  the  reso¬ 
lution  he  had  formed  on  accepting  his  station  in  the  cabinet, 
to  make  the  resignation  of  the  President  the  epoch  of  his 
own  retirement  from  labors  of  which  he  was  heartily  tired. 
He  did  not  believe,  however,  that  any  of  his  brethren  in  the 
administration  had  any  idea  of  retiring;  on  the  contrary,  he 
had  perceived,  at  a  late  meeting  of  the  trustees  of  the  sink¬ 
ing  fund,  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  had  developed 
the  plan  he  intended  to  pursue,  and  that  it  embraced  years 
in  its  view. 


Cife  of  U/as^ir?<$tor) 


221 


ashington  rejoined  that  he  considered  the  Treasury 
Department  a  limited  one,  going  only  to  the  single  object  of 
revenue,  while  that  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  embracing 
nearly  all  the  objects  of  administration,  was  much  more  im¬ 
portant,  and  the  retirement  of  the  officer,  therefore,  would 
be  more  noticed;  that  though  the  government  had  set  out 
with  a  pretty  general  good  will,  yet  that  symptoms  of  dis¬ 
satisfaction  had  lately  shown  themselves,  far  beyond  what 
he  could  have  expected ;  and  to  what  height  these  might 
arise,  in  case  of  too  great  a  change  in  the  administration, 
could  not  be  foreseen. 

Jefferson  availed  himself  of  this  opportunity  to  have  a 
thrust  at  his  political  rival.  “I  told  him”  (the  President), 
relates  he,  “that  in  my  opinion  there  was  only  a  single  source 
of  these  discontents.  Though  they  had,  indeed,  appeared  to 
spread  themselves  over  the  War  Department  also,  yet  I  con¬ 
sidered  that  as  an  overflowing  only  from  their  real  channel, 
which  would  never  have  taken  place  if  they  had  not  first 
been  generated  in  another  department;  to  wit,  that  of  the 
Treasury.  That  a  system  had  there  been  contrived  for  del¬ 
uging  the  States  with  paper  money  instead  of  gold  and  sil¬ 
ver,  for  withdrawing  our  citizens  from  the  pursuits  of  com¬ 
merce,  manufactures,  buildings  and  other  branches  of  useful 
industry,  to  occupy  themselves  and  their  capitals  in  a  species 
of  gambling,  destructive  of  morality,  and  which  had  intro¬ 
duced  its  poison  into  the  government  itself.”  * 

Mr.  J efferson  went  on,  in  the  same  strain,  to  comment  at 
large  upon  the  measures  of  Mr.  Hamilton,  but  records  no  re¬ 
ply  of  importance  on  the  part  of  Washington,  whose  object 
in  seeking  the  conversation  had  been  merely  to  persuade  his 


*  Jefferson’s  Works,  ix.  102. 


222 


U/or^s  of  U/a8t?ir>^tor>  Iruir>$ 


Secretary  to  remain  in  the  cabinet ;  and  who  had  no  relish 
for  the  censorious  comments  to  which  it  had  given  rise. 

Yet  with  all  this  political  rivalry,  Jefferson  has  left  on 
record  his  appreciation  of  the  sterling  merit  of  Hamilton. 
In  his  Anas  he  speaks  of  him  as  “of  acute  understanding, 
disinterested,  honest,  and  honorable  in  all  private  transac¬ 
tions  ;  amiable  in  society,  and  duly  valuing  virtue  in  private 
life.  Yet  so  bewitched  and  perverted  by  the  British  exam¬ 
ple  as  to  be  under  thorough  conviction  that  corruption  was 
essential  to  the  government  of  a  nation.’’ 

In  support  of  this  sweeping  exception  to  Mr.  Hamilton’s 
political  orthodoxy,  Mr.  Jefferson  gives,  in  his  Anas,  a  con¬ 
versation  which  occurred  between  that  gentleman  and  Mr. 
Adams,  at  his  (Mr.  Jefferson’s)  table,  after  the  cloth  was 
removed.  “Conversation,”  writes  he,  “began  on  other  mat¬ 
ters,  and  by  some  circumstance  was  led  to  the  British  consti¬ 
tution,  on  which  Mr.  Adams  observed,  ‘Purge  that  constitu¬ 
tion  of  its  corruption,  and  give  to  its  popular  branch  equality 
of  representation,  and  it  would  be  the  most  perfect  constitu¬ 
tion  ever  devised  by  the  wit  of  man.  ’  Hamilton  paused  and 
said,  ‘Purge  it  of  its  corruption,  and  give  to  its  popular  branch 
equality  of  representation,  and  it  would  become  an  imprac¬ 
ticable  government ;  as  it  stands  at  present,  with  all  its  sup¬ 
posed  defects,  it  is  the  most  perfect  government  which  ever 
existed.’  ”  * 

This  after-dinner  conversation  appears  to  us  very  loose 
ground  on  which  to  found  the  opinion  continually  expressed 
by  Mr.  Jefferson,  that  “Mr.  Hamilton  was  not  only  a  mo¬ 
narchist,  but  for  a  monarchy  bottomed  on  corruption.” 

Subsequent  to  Washington’s  remonstrance  with  Mr.  Jef- 


*  Jefferson’s  Works,  vol.  ix.,  p.  96. 


Cife  of  U/asfyip^tog 


223 


ferson  above  cited,  he  had  confidential  conversations  with 
Mr.  Madison  on  the  subject  of  his  intended  retirement  from 
office  at  the  end  of  the  presidential  term,  and  asked  him  to 
think  what  would  be  the  proper  time  and  mode  of  announc¬ 
ing  his  intention  to  the  public ;  and  intimating  a  wish  that 
Mr.  Madison  would  prepare  for  him  the  announcement. 

Mr.  Madison  remonstrated  in  the  most  earnest  manner 
against  such  a  resolution,  setting  forth,  in  urgent  language, 
the  importance  to  the  country  of  his  continuing  in  the  presi¬ 
dency.  Washington  listened  to  his  reasoning  with  profound 
attention,  but  still  clung  to  his  resolution. 

In  consequence  of  St.  Clair’s  disastrous  defeat  and  the 
increasing  pressure  of  the  Indian  war,  bills  had  been  passed 
in  Congress  for  increasing  the  army,  by  adding  three  regi¬ 
ments  of  infantry  and  a  squadron  of  cavalry  (which  addi¬ 
tional  force  was  to  serve  for  three  years,  unless  sooner  dis¬ 
charged),  also  for  establishing  a  uniform  militia  system. 

The  question  now  came  up  as  to  the  appointment  of  an 
officer  to  command  in  the  Western  frontier.  General  St. 
Clair,  in  a  letter  to  Washington,  expressed  a  wish  that  a 
court  of  inquiry  might  be  instituted  to  investigate  his  con¬ 
duct  in  the  late  expedition.  “Your  desire,”  replied  Wash¬ 
ington,  March  28th,  “of  rectifying  any  errors  of  the  public 
opinion  relative  to  your  conduct,  by  an  investigation  of  a 
court  of  inquiry,  is  highly  laudable,  and  would  be  readily 
complied  with,  were  the  measure  practicable.  But  a  total 
deficiency  of  officers  in  actual  service,  of  competent  rank  to 
form  a  legal  court  for  that  purpose,  precludes  the  power  of 
gratifying  your  wishes  on  this  occasion. 

“The  intimation  of  your  wishes  to  afford  your  successor 
all  the  information  of  which  you  are  capable,  although  un¬ 
necessary  for  my  personal  conviction,  must  be  regarded  as 


Worlds  of  U/aaf?iQ$tor)  Iruii?<$ 


224 

an  additional  evidence  of  the  goodness  of  your  heart,  and  of 
your  attachment  to  your  country.” 

In  a  letter  dated  March  31st,  St.  Clair  urged  reasons  for 
being  permitted  to  retain  his  commission  “until  an  opportu¬ 
nity  should  be  presented,  if  necessary,  of  investigating  his 
conduct  in  every  mode  presented  by  law.” 

These  reasons,  Washington  replied,  would  be  conclusive 
with  him  under  any  other  circumstances  than  the  present. 
“But  the  establishment  of  the  troops,”  observes  he,  “allows 
only  of  one  Major-general.  You  have  manifested  your  in¬ 
tention  of  retiring,  and  the  essential  interests  of  the  public 
require  that  your  successor  should  be  immediately  appointed, 
in  order  to  repair  to  the  frontiers. 

“As  the  House  of  Representatives  have  been  pleased  to 
institute  an  inquiry  into  the  causes  of  the  failure  of  the  late 
expedition,  I  should  hope  an  opportunity  would  thereby  be 
afforded  you  of  explaining  your  conduct  in  a  manner  satis¬ 
factory  to  the  public  and  yourself.” 

St.  Clair  resigned  his  commission,  and  was  succeeded  in 
his  Western  command  by  General  Wayne,  the  Mad  Anthony 
of  the  Revolution,  still  in  the  vigor  of  his  days,  being  forty- 
seven  years  of  age.  “He  has  many  good  points  as  an  offi¬ 
cer,”  writes  Washington,  “and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  time, 
reflection,  good  advice,  and,  above  all,  a  due  sense  of  the 
importance  of  the  trust  which  is  committed  to  him,  will 
correct  his  foibles,  or  cast  a  shade  over  them.”  * 

Washington’s  first  thought  was  that  a  decisive  expedi¬ 
tion,  conducted  by  this  energetic  man  of  the  sword,  might 
retrieve  the  recent  frontier  disgrace,  and  put  an  end  to  the 
persevering  hostility  of  the  Indians.  In  deference,  however, 


*  Letter  to  Governor  Lee.  Washington’s  Writings,  x.  248. 


Cife  of  U/asfyiQ^toi} 


225 


to  the  clamors  which  had  been  raised  against  the  war  and  its 
expenses,  and  to  meet  what  appeared  to  be  the  prevalent 
wish  of  the  nation,  he  reluctantly  relinquished  his  more  ener¬ 
getic  policy,  and  gave  into  that  which  advised  further  nego¬ 
tiations  for  peace ;  though  he  was  far  from  anticipating  a 
beneficial  result. 

In  regard  to  St.  Clair,  we  will  here  add  that  a  committee 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  ultimately  inquired  into  the 
cause  of  the  failure  of  his  expedition,  and  rendered  a  report 
in  which  he  was  explicitly  exculpated.  His  adjutant-general 
also  (Winthrop  Sargent),  in  his  private  diary,  testifies  to  St. 
Clair’s  coolness  and  bravery,  though  debilitated  by  illness. 
Public  sentiment,  however,  remained  for  a  long  time  adverse 
to  him;  but  Washington,  satisfied  with  the  explanations 
which  had  been  giverf,  continued  to  honor  him  with  his 
confidence  and  friendship. 

Congress  adjourned  on  the  8th  of  May,  and  soon  after¬ 
ward  Washington  set  off  on  a  short  visit  to  Mount  Vernon. 
The  season  was  in  all  its  beauty,  and  never  had  this  rallying 
place  of  his  affections  appeared  to  him  more  attractive. 
How  could  he  give  up  the  prospect  of  a  speedy  return  to  its 
genial  pursuits  and  pleasures  from  the  harassing  cares  and 
janglings  of  public  life.  On  the  20th  of  May,  he  wrote  to 
Mr.  Madison  on  the  subject  of  their  late  conversation.  “I 
have  not  been  unmindful,”  says  he,  “of  the  sentiments  ex¬ 
pressed  by  you.  On  the  contrary,  I  have  again  and  again 
revolved  them  with  thoughtful  anxiety,  but  without  being 
able  to  dispose  my  mind  to  a  longer  continuation  in  the  office 
I  have  now  the  honor  to  hold.  I,  therefore,  still  look  for¬ 
ward  with  the  fondest  and  most  ardent  wishes  to  spend  the 
remainder  of  my  days,  which  I  cannot  expect  to  be  long,  in 
ease  and  tranquillity.” 


226  U/orks  of  U/asl?ip^tor>  Iruip$ 

I 

He  now  renewed  the  request  he  had  made  Mr.  Madison, 
for  advice  as  to  the  proper  time  and  mode  for  announcing 
his  intention  of  retiring,  and  for  assistance  in  preparing  the 
announcement.  “In  revolving  this  subject  myself,”  writes 
he,  “my  judgment  has  always  been  embarrassed.  On  the 
one  hand,  a  previous  declaration  to  retire  not  only  carries 
with  it  the  appearance  of  vanity  and  self-importance,  but  it 
may  be  construed  into  a  maneuver  to  be  invited  to  remain ; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  to  say  nothing,  implies  consent,  or, 
at  any  rate,  would  leave  the  matter  in  doubt;  and  to  decline 
afterward,  might  be  deemed  as  bad  and  uncandid.” 

“I  would  fain  carry  my  request  to  you  further,”  adds 
he.  “As  the  recess  [of  Congress]  may  afford  you  leisure, 
and,  I  flatter  myself,  you  have  dispositions  to  oblige  me,  I 
will,  without  apology,  desire,  if  the  measure  in  itself  should 
strike  you  as  proper,  or  likely  to  produce  public  good  or  pri¬ 
vate  honor,  that  you  would  turn  your  thoughts  to  a  valedic¬ 
tory  address  from  me  to  the  public.” 

He  then  went  on  to  suggest  a  number  of  the  topics  and 
ideas  which  the  address  was  to  contain ;  all  to  be  expressed 
in  “plain  and  modest  terms.”  But,  in  the  main,  he  left  it  to 
Mr.  Madison  to  determine  whether,  in  the  first  place,  such 
an  address  would  be  proper;  if  so,  what  matters  it  ought  to 
contain,  and  when  it  ought  to  appear ;  whether  at  the  same 
time  with  his  [Washington’s]  declaration  of  his  intention  to 
retire,  or  at  the  close  of  his  career. 

Madison,  in  reply,  approved  of  the  measure,  and  advised 
that  the  notification  and  address  should  appear  together,  and 
be  promulgated  through  the  press  in  time  to  pervade  every 
part  of  the  Union  by  the  beginning  of  November.  With  the 
letter  he  sent  a  draft  of  the  address.  “You  will  readily  ob¬ 
serve,”  writes  he,  “that,  in  executing  it,  I  have  aimed  at 


Cife  of  U/as^iQ^tor) 


227 


that  plainness  and  modesty  of  language  which  you  had  in 
view,  and  which,  indeed,  are  so  peculiarly  becoming  the 
character  and  the  occasion ;  and  that  I  had  little  more  to  do 
as  to  the  matter  than  to  follow  the  just  and  comprehensive 
outline  which  you  had  sketched.  I  flatter  myself,  however, 
that,  in  everything  which  has  depended  on  me,  much  im¬ 
provement  will  be  made,  before  so  interesting  a  paper  shall 
have  taken  its  last  form.”  * 

Before  concluding  his  letter,  Madison  expressed  a  hope 
that  Washington  would  reconsider  his  idea  of  retiring  from 
office,  and  that  the  country  might  not,  at  so  important  a  con¬ 
juncture,  be  deprived  of  the  inestimable  advantage  of  having 
him  at  the  head  of  its  councils. 

On  the  23d  of  May,  Jefferson  also  addressed  a  long  letter 
to  Washington  on  the  same  subject.  “When  you  first  men¬ 
tioned  to  me  your  purpose  of  retiring  from  the  government, 
though  I  felt  all  the  magnitude  of  the  event,  I  was  in  a 
considerable  degree  silent.  I  knew  that,  to  such  a  mind 
as  yours,  persuasion  was  idle  and  impertinent;  that,  before 
forming  your  decision,  you  had  weighed  all  the  reasons  for* 
and  against  the  measure,  had  made  up  your  mind  in  full 
view  of  them,  and  that  there  could  be  little  hope  of  chang¬ 
ing  the  result.  Pursuing  my  reflections,  too,  1  knew  we 
were  some  day  to  try  to  walk  alone,  and,  if  the  essay  should 
be  made  while  you  should  be  alive  and  looking  on,  we  should 
derive  confidence  from  that  circumstance,  and  resource  if  it 
failed.  The  public  mind,  too,  was  then  calm  and  confident, 
and  therefore  in  a  favorable  state  for  making. the  experiment. 
But  the  public  mind  is  no  longer  so  confident  and  serene ; 
and  that  from  causes  in  which  you  are  no  ways  personally 
mixed.  ’ 9 


*  Washington’s  Writings.  Sparks,  xii.  382. 


U/or^s  of  U/asl?ir}<$tOF?  Iruir7<$ 


>)OQ 

/V  /w  O 


Jefferson  now  launched  out  against  the  public  debt  and 
all  the  evils  which  he  apprehended  from  the  funding  system, 
the  ultimate  object  of  all  which  was,  said  he,  “to  prepare 
the  way  for  a  change  from  the  present  republican  form  of 
government  to  that  of  a  monarchy,  of  which  the  English 
constitution  is  to  be  the  model.  ”  He  concluded  by  pronounc¬ 
ing  the  continuance  of  Washington  at  the  head  of  affairs  to 
be  of  the  last  importance. 

“The  confidence  of  the  whole  Union,”  writes  he,  “is  cen¬ 
tered  in  you.  Your  being  at  the  helm  will  be  more  than  an 
answer  to  every  argument  which  can  be  used  to  alarm  and 
lead  the  people  in  any  quarter  into  violence  or  secession. 
North  and  South  will  hang  together,  if  they  have  you  to 
hang  on ;  and,  if  the  first  corrective  of  a  numerous  represen¬ 
tation  should  fail  in  its  effect,  your  presence  will  give  time 
for  trying  others  not  inconsistent  with  the  union  and  peace 
of  the  States. 

“I  am  perfectly  aware  of  the  oppression  under  which 
your  present  office  lays  your  mind,  and  of  the  ardor  with 
which  you  pant  for  retirement  to  domestic  life.  But  there 
is  sometimes  an  eminence  of  character  on  which  society  has 
such  peculiar  claims  as  to  control  the  predilections  of  the  in¬ 
dividual  for  a  particular  walk  of  happiness,  and  restrain  him 
to  that  alone,  arising  from  the  present  and  future  benedic¬ 
tions  of  mankind.  This  seems  to  be  your  condition,  and  the 
law  imposed  on  you  by  Providence,  in  forming  your  char¬ 
acter,  and  fashioning  the  events  on  which  it  was  to  operate ; 
and  it  is  to  motives  like  these,  and  not  to  personal  anxieties 
of  mine  or  others,  who  have  no  right  to  call  on  you  for  sacri¬ 
fices,  that  I  appeal  from  your  former  determination  and  urge 
a  revisal  of  it,  on  the  ground  of  change  in  the  aspect  of 
things.  Should  an  honest  majority  result  from  the  new  and 


Cife  of  U/a8f?ii)<$tor) 


229 


enlarged  representation,  should  those  acquiesce,  whose  prin¬ 
ciples  or  interests  they  may  control,  your  wishes  for  retire¬ 
ment  would  be  gratified  with  less  danger,  as  soon  as  that 
shall  be  manifest,  without  awaiting  the  completion  of  the 
second  period  of  four  years.  One  or  two  sessions  will  deter¬ 
mine  the  crisis ;  and  I  cannot  but  hope  that  you  can  resolve 
to  add  one  or  two  more  to  the  many  years  you  have  already 
sacrificed  to  the  good  of  mankind.”  * 


CHAPTER  SIXTEEN 

Jefferson’s  Suspicions — Contemned  by  Hamilton — Washington’s 
Expostulation — Complains  of  the  Conduct  of  Freneau’s  Paper 
^-Hamilton  and  Randolph  urge  him  to  a  Re-election — A  war¬ 
ring  Cabinet — Hamilton’s  attack  on  Jefferson — Washington’s 
healing  Admonition — Replies  of  the  two  Secretaries — Continued 
Hostility  to  the  Excise  Law — Washington’s  Proclamation — Re¬ 
newed  Effort  to  allay  the  Discord  in  his  Cabinet 

The  letter  of  Jefferson  was  not  received  by  Washington 
until  after  his  return  to  Philadelphia,  and  the  purport  of  it 
was  so  painful  to  him  that  he  deferred  from  day  to  day  hav¬ 
ing  any  conversation  with  that  statesman  on  the  subject.  A 
letter  written  in  the  meantime,  by  Jefferson  to  Lafayette, 
shows  the  predominant  suspicion,  or  rather  belief,  which  had 
fixed  itself  in  the  mind  of  the  former,  and  was  shaping  his 
course  of  action. 

“A  sect,”  writes  he,  “has  shown  itself  among  us,  who 
declare  they  espoused  our  constitution  not  as  a  good  and 
sufficient  thing  in  itself,  but  only  as  a  step  to  an  English 
constitution,  the  only  thing  good  and  sufficient  in  itself,  in 


*  Writings,  x.  508. 


230 


U/or^s  of  U/asfyip^tOQ  Iruip$ 


their  eyes.  It  is  happy  for  us  that  these  are  preachers  with¬ 
out  followers,  and  that  our  people  are  firm  and  constant  in 
their  republican  purity.  Y  ou  will  wonder  to  be  told  that  it 
is  from  the  Eastward  chiefly  that  these  champions  for  a 
king,  lords,  and  commons,  come.  They  get  some  important 
associates  from  New  York,  and  are  puffed  up  by  a  tribe  of 
Agioteurs  which  have  been  hatched  in  a  bed  of  corruption, 
made  up  after  the  model  of  their  beloved  England.  Too 
many  of  these  stock-jobbers  and  king- jobbers  have  come  into 
our  legislature,  or  rather,  too  many  of  our  legislature  have 
become  stock-jobbers  and  king- jobbers.  However,  the  voice 
of  the  people  is  beginning  to  make  itself  heard,  and  will  prob¬ 
ably  cleanse  their  seats  at  the  next  election.”  * 

In  regard  to  the  suspicions  and  apprehensions  avowed  in 
the  above  letter,  and  which  apparently  were  haunting  J  eff  er- 
son’s  mind,  Hamilton  expressed  himself  roundly  in  one  of  his 
cabinet  papers : 

“The  idea  of  introducing  a  monarchy  or  aristocracy  into 
this  country,  by  employing  the  influence  and  force  of  a  gov¬ 
ernment  continually  changing  hands,  toward  it,  is  one  of 
those  visionary  things  that  none  but  madmen  could  medi¬ 
tate,  and  that  no  wise  man  will  believe.  If  it  could  be  done 
at  all,  which  is  utterly  incredible,  it  would  require  a  long 
series  of  time,  certainly  beyond  the  life  of  any  individual,  to 
effect  it — who,  then,  would  enter  into  such  a  plot?  for  what 
purpose  of  interest  or  ambition?” 

And  as  to  the  charge  of  stock-gambling  in  the  legislature, 
Hamilton  indignantly  writes :  “As  far  as  I  know,  there  is 
not  a  member  of  the  legislature  who  can  properly  be  called 
a  stock-jobber  or  a  paper  dealer.  There  are  several  of  them 


*  Jefferson’s  Works,  iii.  450. 


Cife  of  U/a8f?ii7<£toi} 


231 


who  were  proprietors  of  public  debt,  in  various  ways;  some 
for  money  lent  and  property  furnished  for  the  use  of  the 
public  during  the  war,  others  for  sums  received  in  payment 
of  debts,  and  it  is  supposable  enough  that  some  of  them  had 
been  purchasers  of  the  public  debt,  with  intention  to  hold  it 
as  a  valuable  and  convenient  property,  considering  an  honor¬ 
able  provision  for  it  as  a  matter  of  course. 

“It  is  a  strange  perversion  of  ideas,  and  as  novel  as  it  is 
extraordinary,  that  men  should  be  deemed  corrupt  and  crim¬ 
inal  for  becoming  proprietors  in  the  funds  of  their  country. 
Yet,  I  believe  the  number  of  members  of  Congress  is  very 
small  who  have  ever  been  considerable  proprietors  in  the 
funds.  As  to  improper  speculations  on  measures  depending 
before  Congress,  I  believe  never  was  any  body  of  men  freer 
from  them.”* 

On  the  10th  of  July,  Washington  had  a  conversation 
«  with  Jefferson  on  the  subject  of  the  letter  he  had  recently 
received  from  him ;  and  endeavored  with  his  usual  supervis¬ 
ing  and  moderating  assiduity  to  allay  the  jealousies  and  sus¬ 
picions  which  were  disturbing  the  mind  of  that  ardent  poli¬ 
tician.  These,  he  intimated,  had  been  carried  a  great  deal 
too  far.  There  might  be  desires ,  he  said,  among  a  few  in 
the  higher  walks  of  life,  particularly  in  the  great  cities,  to 
change  the  form  of  government  into  a  monarchy,  but  he  did 
not  believe  there  were  any  designs;  and  he  believed  the 
main  body  of  the  people  of  the  Eastern  States  were  as  stead¬ 
ily  for  republicanism  as  in  the  Southern. 

He  now  spoke  with  earnestness  about  articles  in  the  pub¬ 
lic  papers,  especially  in  the  “Gazette”  edited  by  Freneau, 
the  object  of  which  seemed  to  be  to  excite  opposition  to  the 


*  Hamilton’s  Works,  iv.  268. 


232  U/orks  of  U/a8l?ii)$toi)  Irvip^ 

government,  and  which  had  actually  excited  it  in  Pennsyl¬ 
vania,  in  regard  to  the  excise  law.  “These  articles/ ’  said 
he,  feelingly,  “tend  to  produce  a  separation  of  the  Union, 
the  most  dreadful  of  calamities;  and  whatever  tends  to 
produce  anarchy,  tends,  of  course,  to  produce  a  resort  to 
monarchial  government.  ’  ’ 

The  articles  in  question  had,  it  is  true,  been  chiefly  leveled 
at  the  Treasury  Department,  but  "Washington  accepted  no 
immunity  from  attacks  pointed  at  any  department  of  his 
government;  assuming  that  they  were  aimed  directly  at 
himself.  “In  condemning  the  administration  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment,  they  condemned  me,”  said  he,  “for,  if  they  thought 
these  were  measures  pursued  contrary  to  my  sentiments,  they 
must  conceive  me  too  careless  to  attend  to  them  or  too  stupid 
to  understand  them.” 

He  acknowledged,  indeed,  that  he  had  signed  many  acts 
of  which  he  did  not  approve  in  all  their  parts ;  but  never  had 
he  put  his  hand  to  one  which  he  did  not  think  eligible,  on 
the  whole. 

As  to  the  bank  which  had  been  so  much  complained  of, 
he  observed  that,  until  there  was  some  infallible  criterion  of 
reason,  a  difference  of  opinion  must  be  tolerated.  He  did 
not  believe  the  discontents  extended  far  from  the  seat  of 
government.  He  had  seen  and  spoken  with  many  people  in 
Maryland  and  Virginia  in  his  late  journey,  and  had  found 
them  contented  and  happy. 

Jefferson’s  observations  in  reply  tended,  principally,  to 
iterate  and  enforce  what  he  had  already  urged  in  his  letter. 
The  two  great  popular  complaints  were,  he  said,  that  the 
national  debt  was  unnecessarily  increased  by  the  Assump¬ 
tion,  and  that  it  had  furnished  the  means  of  corrupting  both 
branches  of  the  legislature.  In  both  Houses  there  was  a 


Cife  of  U/asf?ii}<$top 


233 


considerable  squadron  whose  votes  were  devoted  to  the 
paper  and  stock-jobbing  interest.  On  examining  the  votes 
of  these  men  they  would  be  found  uniformly  for  every 
treasury  measure,  and  as  most  of  these  measures  had  been 
carried  by  small  majorities,  they  had  been  carried  by  these 
very  votes.  It  was  a  cause  of  just  uneasiness,  therefore, 
when  we  saw  a  legislature  legislating  for  their  own  inter¬ 
ests  in  opposition  to  those  of  the  people. 

“Washington,”  observes  Jefferson,  “said  not  a  word 
on  the  corruption  of  the  legislature.”  He  probably  did  not 
feel  disposed  to  contend  against  what  he  may  have  consid¬ 
ered  jealous  suspicions  and  deductions.  But  he  took  up  the 
other  point  and  defended  the  Assumption,  arguing,  says 
Jefferson,  that  it  had  not  increased  the  debt,  for  that  all 
of  it  was  honest  debt. 

He  justified  the  excise  law,  too,  as  one  of  the  best  laws 
that  could  be  passed,  as  nobody  would  pay  the  tax  who  did 
not  choose  to  do  it. 

We  give  this  conversation  as  noted  down  by  Jefferson 
in  his  Anas.  It  is  one  of  the  very  few  instances  we  have 
of  Washington’s  informal  discussions  with  the  members  of 
his  cabinet,  and  it  bears  the  stamp  of  that  judgment,  con¬ 
siderateness,  delicacy,  and  good  faith  which  enabled  him  to 
moderate  and  manage  the  wayward  passions  and  impulses 
of  able  men. 

Hamilton  was  equally  strenuous  with  Jefferson  in  urging 
upon  Washington  the  policy  of  a  re-election,  as  it  regarded 
the  public  good,  and  wrote  to  him  fully  on  the  subject.  It 
was  the  opinion  of  every  one,  he  alleged,  with  whom  he  had 
conversed,  that  the  affairs  of  the  national  government  were 
not  yet  firmly  established ;  that  its  enemies,  generally  speak¬ 
ing,  were  as  inveterate  as  ever ;  that  their  enmity  had  been 


234 


U/orks  of  U/asfpip^tor)  Irc/iq$ 


sharpened  by  its  success  and  all  the  resentments  which  flow 
from  disappointed  predictions  and  mortified  vanity;  that  a 
general  and  strenuous  effort  was  making  in  every  State  to 
place  the  administration  of  it  in  the  hands  of  its  enemies, 
as  if  they  were  its  safest  guardians;  that  the  period  of  the 
next  House  of  Representatives  was  likely  to  prove  the  crisis 
of  its  national  character;  that  if  Washington  continued  in 
office,  nothing  materially  mischievous  was  to  be  apprehended ; 
but,  if  he  should  quit,  much  was  to  be  dreaded;  that  the 
same  motives  which  had  induced  him  to  accept  originally, 
ought  to  decide  him  to  continue  till  matters  had  assumed  a 
more  determinate  aspect;  that,  indeed,  it  would  have  been 
better,  as  it  regarded  his  own  character,  that  he  had  never 
consented  to  come  forward  than  now  to  leave  the  business 
unfinished  and  in  danger  of  being  undone;  that  in  the  event 
of  storms  arising  there  would  be  an  imputation  either  of  want 
of  foresight  or  want  of  firmness ;  and,  in  fine,  that  on  public 
and  personal  accounts,  on  patriotic  and  prudential  considera¬ 
tions,  the  clear  path  to  be  pursued  by  him  would  be  again 
to  obey  the  voice  of  his  country ;  which,  it  was  not  doubted, 
would  be  as  earnest  and  as  unanimous  as  ever. 

In  concluding  his  letter,  Hamilton  observes,  “The  senti¬ 
ments  I  have  delivered  upon  this  occasion,  I  can  truly  say, 
proceed  exclusively  from  an  anxious  concern  for  the  public 
welfare  and  an  affectionate  personal  attachment.* * 

Mr.  Edmund  Randolph,  also,  after  a  long  letter  on  the 
“jeopardy  of  the  Union,*’  which  seemed  to  him  “at  the  eve 
of  a  crisis,”  adds:  “The  fuel  which  has  been  already  gath¬ 
ered  for  combustion  wants  no  addition.  But  how  awfully 
might  it  be  increased  were  the  violence,  which  is  now  sus¬ 
pended  by  a  universal  submission  to  your  pretensions,  let 
loose  by  your  resignation.  Permit  me,  then,  in  the  fervor 


Cife  of  U/as^ip^top 


235 


of  a  dutiful  and  affectionate  attachment  to  you,  to  beseech 
you  to  penetrate  the  consequences  of  a  dereliction  of  the 
reins.  The  constitution  would  never  have  been  adopted  but 
from  a  knowledge  that  you  had  once  sanctioned  it,  and  an 
expectation  that  you  would  execute  it.  It  is  in  a  state  of 
probation.  The  most  inauspicious  struggles  are  past,  but 
the  public  deliberations  need  stability.  You  alone  can  give 
them  stability.  You  suffered  yourself  to  yield  when  the 
voice  of  your  country  summoned  you  to  the  administration. 
Should  a  civil  war  arise,  you  cannot  stay  at  home.  And 
how  much  easier  will  it  be  to  disperse  the  factions,  which 
are  rushing  to  this  catastrophe,  than  to  subdue  them  after 
they  shall  appear  in  arms?  It  is  the  fixed  opinion  of  the 
world  that  you  surrender  nothing  incomplete.’ ’  * 

Not  the  cabinet,  merely,  divided  as  it  was  in  its  political 
opinions,  but  all  parties,  however  discordant  in  other  points, 
concurred  in  a  desire  that  Washington  should  continue  in 
office — so  truly  was  he  regarded  as  the  choice  of  the  nation. 

But  though  the  cabinet  was  united  in  feeling  on  this  one 
subject,  in  other  respects  its  dissensions  were  increasing  in 
virulence.  Hamilton,  aggrieved  by  the  attacks  made  in 
Freneau’s  paper  upon  his  funding  and  banking  system,  his 
duty  on  home-made  spirits,  and  other  points  of  his  financial 
policy,  and  upon  himself,  by  holding  him  up  as  a  monarchist 
at  heart,  and  considering  these  attacks  as  originating  in  the 
hostility  of  Freneau’s  patron,  Mr.  Jefferson,  addressed  a  note 
signed  T.  L.,  to  the  editor  of  the  “Gazette  of  the  United 
States,”  in  which  he  observed  that  the  editor  of  the  “Na¬ 
tional  Gazette”  received  a  salary  from  government,  adding 
the  significant  query — whether  this  salary  was  paid  him  for 


*  Washington’s  Writings,  x.  514. 


236 


U/orl^g  of  U/as^irj^torj  Iruii7<$ 


translations  or  for  publications,  the  design  of  which  was  to 
vilify  those  to  whom  the  voice  of  the  people  had  committed 
the  administration  of  our  public  affairs,  to  oppose  the  meas¬ 
ures  of  government,  and,  by  false  insinuations,  to  disturb 
the  public  peace?  “In  common  life  it  is  thought  ungrateful 
for  a  man  to  bite  the  hand  that  puts  bread  in  his  mouth; 
but,  if  the  man  is  hired  to  do  it,  the  case  is  altered.” 

In  another  article,  dated  August  4th,  Mr.  Hamilton, 
under  the  signature  of  “An  American,”  gave  some  partic¬ 
ulars  of  the  negotiations  which  ended  in  the  establishment 
of  the  “National  Gazette,”  devoted  to  the  interests  of  a  cer¬ 
tain  party,  of  which  Mr.  Jefferson  was  the  head.  “An 
experiment,”  said  he,  “somewhat  new  in  the  history  of 
political  maneuvers  in  this  country;  a  newspaper  instituted 
by  a  public  officer,  and  the  editor  of  it  regularly  pensioned 
with  the  public  money  in  the  disposal  of  that  officer.  .  .  . 
But,  it  may  be  asked — is  it  possible  that  Mr.  Jefferson,  the 
head  of  a  principal  department  of  the  government,  can  be 
the  patron  of  a  paper,  the  evident  object  of  which  is  to  decry 
the  government  and  its  measures?  If  he  disapproves  of  the 
government  itself,  and  thinks  it  deserving  of  his  opposition, 
can  he  reconcile  it  to  his  own  personal  dignity  and  the  prin¬ 
ciples  of  probity,  to  hold  an  office  under  it,  and  employ  the 
means  of  official  influence  in  that  opposition?  If  he  disap¬ 
proves  of  the  leading  measures  which  have  been  adopted  in 
the  course  of  his  administration,  can  he  reconcile  it  with  the 
principles  of  delicacy  and  propriety  to  hold  a  place  in  that 
administration,  and  at  the  same  time  to  be  instrumental  in 
vilifying  measures  which  have  been  adopted  by  majorities 
of  both  branches  of  the  legislature,  and  sanctioned  by  the 
chief  magistrate  of  the  Union?” 

This  attack  brought  out  an  affidavit  from  Mr.  Freneau, 


Cife  of  U/a8l?ii)$toi) 


237 


in  which  he  declared  that  his  coming  to  Philadelphia  was 
his  own  voluntary  act,  that,  as  an  editor  of  a  newspaper, 
he  had  never  been  urged,  advised,  or  influenced  by  Mr. 
Jefferson,  and  that  not  a  single  line  of  his  “Gazette”  was 
ever  directly  or  indirectly  written,  dictated  or  composed  for 
it  by  the  Secretary  of  State. 

Washington  had  noticed  this  growing  feud  with  excessive 
pain,  and  at  length  found  it  necessary  to  interfere  and  at¬ 
tempt  a  reconciliation  between  the  warring  parties.  In  the 
course  of  a  letter  to  Jefferson  (Aug.  23d),  on  the  subject  of 
Indian  hostilities,  and  the  possibility  of  their  being  furnished 
by  foreign  agents  to  check,  as  far  as  possible,  the  rapid 
increase,  extension  and  consequence  of  the  United  States, 
“How  unfortunate,  then,”  observes  he,  “and  how  much 
to  be  regretted  that,  while  we  are  encompassed  on  all  sides 
with  armed  enemies  and  insidious  friends,  internal  dissen¬ 
sions  should  be  harrowing  and  tearing  our  vitals.  The  lat¬ 
ter,  to  me,  is  the  most  serious,  the  most  alarming,  and  the 
most  afflicting  of  the  two;  and  without  more  charity  for 
the  opinions  and  acts  of  one  another  in  governmental  mat¬ 
ters,  or  some  more  infallible  criterion  by  which  the  truth  of 
speculative  opinions,  before  they  have  undergone  the  test 
of  experience,  are  to  be  prejudged,  than  has  yet  fallen  to  the 
lot  of  fallibility,  I  believe  it  will  be  difficult,  if  not  impractica¬ 
ble,  to  manage  the  reins  of  government,  or  to  keep  the  parts 
of  it  together;  for  if,  instead  of  laying  our  shoulders  to  the 
machine  after  measures  are  decided  on,  one  pulls  this  way 
and  another  that,  before  the  utility  of  the  thing  is  fairly  tried, 
it  must  inevitably  be  torn  asunder;  and,  in  my  opinion,  the 
fairest  prospect  of  happiness  and  prosperity  that  ever  was 
presented  to  man  will  be  lost  perhaps  forever. 

“My  earnest  wish  and  fondest  hope,  therefore,  is,  that 


238 


U/orKs  of  U/asI?i9$toQ  Iruii)$ 


instead  of  wounding  suspicions  and  irritating  charges,  there 
may  be  liberal  allowances,  mutual  forbearances,  and  tem¬ 
porizing  yieldings  on  all  sides.  Under  the  exercise  of  these, 
matters  will  go  on  smoothly,  and,  if  possible,  more  prosper¬ 
ously.  Without  them,  everything  must  rub;  the  wheels 
of  government  will  clog;  our  enemies  will  triumph,  and, 
by  throwing  their  weight  into  the  disaffected  scale,  may 
accomplish  the  ruin  of  the  goodly  fabric  we  have  been 
erecting.” 

Admonitions  to  the  same  purport  were  addressed  by  him 
to  Hamilton.  “Having  premised  these  things,”  adds  he, 
“I  would  fain  hope  that  liberal  allowances  will  be  made  for 
the  political  opinions  of  each  other;  and,  instead  of  those 
wounding  suspicions  and  irritating  charges,  with  which  some 
of  our  gazettes  are  so  strongly  impregnated,  and  which  can¬ 
not  fail,  if  persevered  in,  of  pushing  matters  to  extremity, 
and  thereby  tearing  the  machine  asunder,  that  there  may 
be  mutual  forbearance  and  temporizing  yielding  on  all  sides. 
Without  these  I  do  not  see  how  the  reins  of  government  are 
to  be  managed,  or  how  the  Union  ot  the  States  can  be  much 
longer  preserved.”  .  .  . 

“I  do  not  mean  to  apply  this  advice  to  any  measures 
which  are  passed,  or  to  any  particular  character.  I  have 
given  it  in  the  same  general  terms  to  other  officers  of  the 
government.  My  earnest  wish  is  that  balsam  may  be  poured 
into  all  the  wounds  which  have  been  given,  to  prevent  them 
from  gangrening,  and  from  those  fatal  consequences  which 
the  community  may  sustain  if  it  is  withheld.”  * 

Hamilton  was  prompt  and  affectionate  in  his  reply,  ex¬ 
pressing  sincere  regret  at  the  circumstances  which  had  given 


*  Writings,  x.  284. 


Cife  of  U/asl?ir)$tOQ 


239 


rise  to  the  uneasy  sensations  experienced  by  Washington. 
“It  is  my  most  anxious  wish,”  writes  he,  “as  far  as  may 
depend  upon  me,  to  smooth  the  path  of  your  administration, 
and  to  render  it  prosperous  and  happy.  And  if  any  prospect 
shall  open  of  healing  or  terminating  the  differences  which 
exist,  I  shall  most  cheerfully  embrace  it ;  though  I  consider 
myself  as  the  deeply  injured  party.  The  recommendation 
of  such  a  spirit  is  worthy  of  the  moderation  and  wisdom 
which  dictated  it.” 

He  then  frankly  acknowledged  that  he  had  had  “some 
instrumentality”  in  the  retaliations  which  of  late  had  fallen 
upon  certain  public  characters. 

“I  considered  myself  compelled  to  this  conduct,”  adds 
he,  “by  reasons  public  as  well  as  personal,  of  the  most  cogent 
nature.  I  know  I  have  been  an  object  of  uniform  opposition 
from  Mr.  Jefferson,  from  the  moment  of  his  coming  to  the 
city  of  New  York  to  enter  upon  his  present  office.  I  know , 
from  the  most  authentic  sources,  that  I  have  been  the  fre¬ 
quent  subject  of  the  most  unkind  whispers  and  insinuations 
from  the  same  quarter.  I  have  long  seen  a  formed  party 
in  the  legislature  under  his  auspices,  bent  upon  my  subver¬ 
sion.  I  cannot  doubt,  from  the  evidence  I  possess,  that  the 
‘National  Gazette’  was  instituted  by  him  for  political  pur 
poses,  and  that  one  leading  object  of  it  has  been  to  render 
me  and  all  the  measures  connected  with  my  department  as 
odious  as  possible.  Nevertheless,”  proceeds  he,  “I  can  truly 
say  that,  excepting  explanations  to  confidential  friends,  I 
never,  directly  or  indirectly,  retaliated  or  countenanced 

retaliation  till  very  lately.  .  .  .  But  when  I  no  longer 

% 

doubted  that  there  was  a  formed  party  deliberately  bent 
upon  the  subversion  of  measures  which,  in  its  consequences, 
would  subvert  the  government ;  when  I  saw  that  the  undoing 


240 


U/orKs  of  U/asl?ii)$toi}  Iruip<$ 


of  the  funding  system  in  particular  (which,  whatever  may 
be  the  original  measures  of  that  system,  would  prostrate  the 
credit  and  honor  of  the  nation,  and  bring  the  government 
into  contempt  with  that  description  of  men  who  are  in  every 
society  the  only  firm  supporters  of  government),  was  an 
avowed  object  of  the  party ;  and  that  all  possible  pains  were 
taken  to  produce  that  effect  by  rendering  it  odious  to  the 
body  of  the  people,  I  considered  it  a  duty  to  endeavor  to 
resist  the  torrent,  and,  as  an  effectual  means  to  this  end, 
to  draw  aside  the  veil  from  the  principal  actors.  To  this 
strong  impulse,  to  this  decided  conviction,  I  have  yielded; 
and  I  think  events  will  prove  that  I  have  judged  rightly. 

‘‘Nevertheless,  I  pledge  my  hand  to  you,  sir,  that,  if  you 
shall  hereafter  form  a  plan  to  reunite  the  members  of  your 
administration  upon  some  steady  principle  of  co-operation, 
I  will  faithfully  concur  in  executing  it  during  my  continu¬ 
ance  in  office.  And  I  will  not,  directly  or  indirectly,  say 
or  do  a  thing  that  shall  endanger  a  feud.” 

Jefferson,  too,  in  a  letter  of  the  same  date,  assured  Wash¬ 
ington  that  to  no  one  had  the  dissensions  of  the  cabinet  given 
deeper  concern  than  to  himself — to  no  one  equal  mortifica¬ 
tion  at  being  himself  a  part  of  them.  His  own  grievances, 
which  led  to  those  dissensions,  he  traced  back  to  the  time 
when  Hamilton,  in  the  spring  of  1790,  procured  his  influence 
to  effect  a  change  in  the  vote  on  Assumption.  “When  I 
embarked  in  the  government,”  writes  he,  “it  was  with  a 
determination  to  intermeddle  not  at  all  with  the  legisla¬ 
ture,  and  as  little  as  possible  with  my  co-departments.  The 
first  and  only  instance  of  variance  from  the  former  part 
of  my  resolution  I  was  duped  into  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  and  made  a  tool  for  forwarding  his  schemes,  not 
then  sufficiently  understood  by  mej  and  of  all  the  errors 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii)<$toi? 


241 


of  my  political  life,  this  has  occasioned  me  the  deepest  regret. 
...  If  it  has  been  supposed  that  I  have  ever  intrigued 
among  the  members  of  the  legislature  to  defeat  the  plans 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  it  is  contrary  to  all  truth. 

.  .  .  That  I  have  utterly,  in  my  private  conversations, 
disapproved  of  the  system  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
I  acknowledge  and  avow;  and  this  was  not  merely  a  specu¬ 
lative  difference.  His  system  flowed  from  principles  adverse 
to  liberty,  and  was  calculated  to  undermine  and  demolish 
the  republic  by  creating  an  influence  of  his  department  over 
the  members  of  the  legislature.” 

In  regard  to  Freneau’s  “Gazette,”  Mr.  Jefferson  abso¬ 
lutely  denied  that  he  had  set  it  up ;  but  admitted  that,  on 
its  first  establishment,  and  subsequently  from  time  to  time, 
he  had  furnished  the  editor  with  the  “Leyden  Gazette,” 
requesting  that  he  would  always  translate  and  publish  the 
material  intelligence  contained  in  them.  “But  as  to  any 
other  direction  or  indication,”  adds  he,  “of  my  wish  how  his 
press  should  be  conducted,  what  sort  of  intelligence  he  should 
give,  what  essays  encourage,  I  can  protest,  in  the  presence 
of  Heaven,  that  I  never  did,  by  myself  or  any  other,  directly 
or  indirectly,  say  a  syllable,  nor  attempt  any  kind  of  influ¬ 
ence.  I  can  further  protest,  in  the  same  awful  presence, 
that  I  never  did,  by  myself  or  any  other,  directly  or  indi¬ 
rectly,  write,  dictate  or  procure  any  one  sentence  or  senti¬ 
ment  to  be  inserted  in  his  or  any  other  gazette ,  to  which 
my  name  was  not  affixed,  or  that  of  my  office.  .  .  . 

“Freneau’s  proposition  to  publish  a  paper  having  been 
about  the  time  that  the  writings  of  “Publicola”  and  the 
“Discourses  on  Davila”  had  a  good  deal  excited  the  public 
attention,  I  took  it  for  granted,  from  Freneau’s  character, 

which  had  been  marked  as  that  of  a  good  whig,  that  he 

Vol.  XV. — *  *  *  11 


242 


U/orl^s  of  U/a8fyii)$toi>  Iruiq$ 


would  give  free  place  to  pieces  written  against  the  aris¬ 
tocrat!  cal  and  monarchial  principles  these  papers  had  in¬ 
culcated.  .  .  . 

<  4  As  to  the  merits  or  demerits  of  his  paper,  they  certainly 
concern  me  not.  He  and  Fenno  [editor  ot  the  ‘United 
States  Gazette’]  are  rivals  for  the  public  favor;  the  one 
courts  them  by  flattery,  the  other  by  censure ;  and  I  believe 
it  will  be  admitted  that  the  one  has  been  as  servile  as  the 
other  severe.  But  is  not  the  dignity  and  even  decency  of 
government  committed,  when  one  of  its  principal  ministers 
enlists  himself  as  an  anonymous  writer  or  paragraphist  for 
either  the  one  or  the  other  of  them?” 

Mr.  Jefferson  considered  himself  particularly  aggrieved 
by  charges  against  him  in  “Fenno’s  Gazette,”  which  he 
ascribed  to  the  pen  of  Mr.  Hamilton,  and  intimated  the 
possibility  that,  after  his  retirement  from  office,  he  might 
make  an  appeal  to  the  country,  should  his  own  justification 
or  the  interests  of  the  Republic  require  it,  subscribing  his 
name  to  whatever  he  might  write,  and  using  with  freedom 
and  truth  the  facts  and  names  necessary  to  place  the  cause 
in  its  just  form  before  that  tribunal.  “To  a  thorough  dis¬ 
regard  of  the  honors  and  emoluments  of  office,  I  join  as 
great  a  value  for  the  esteem  of  my  countrymen;  and  con¬ 
scious  of  having  merited  it  by  an  integrity  which  cannot 
be  reproached,  and  by  an  enthusiastic  devotion  to  their  rights 
and  liberty,  I  will  not  suffer  my  retirement  to  be  clouded 
by  the  slanders  of  a  man  whose  history,  from  the  moment 
at  which  history  can  stoop  to  notice  him,  is  a  tissue  of  mach¬ 
inations  against  the  liberty  of  the  country  which  has  not 
only  received  and  given  him  bread,  but  heaped  its  honors 
on  his  head.” 

Washington’s  solicitude  for  harmony  in  his  cabinet  had 


Cife  of  U/asbffi^tor? 


I 


243 


✓ 

been  rendered  more  anxious  by  public  disturbances  in  some 
parts  of  the  country.  The  excise  law  on  ardent  spirits 
distilled  within  the  United  States,  had,  from  the  time  of 
its  enactment  by  Congress,  in  1791,  met  with  opposition 
from  the  inhabitants  of  the  western  counties  of  Pennsyl¬ 
vania.  It  had  been  modified  and  rendered  less  offensive 
within  the  present  year ;  but  the  hostility  to  it  had  continued. 
Combinations  were  formed  to  defeat  the  execution  of  it,  and 
the  revenue  officers  were  riotously  opposed  in  the  execution 
of  their  duties. 

Determined  to  exert  all  the  legal  powers  with  which  he 
was  invested  to  check  so  daring  and  unwarrantable  a  spirit, 
Washington,  on  the  15th  of  September,  issued  a  proclama¬ 
tion,  warning  all  persons  to  desist  from  such  unlawful  com¬ 
binations  and  proceedings,  and  requiring  all  courts,  magis¬ 
trates  and  officers  to  bring  the  infractors  of  the  law  to  justice; 
copies  of  which  proclamation  were  sent  to  the  governors  of 
Pennsylvania  and  of  North  and  South  Carolina. 

On  the  18th  of  October,  Washington  made  one  more 
effort  to  allay  the  discord  in  his  cabinet.  Finding  it  im¬ 
possible  for  the  rival  secretaries  to  concur  in  any  system 
of  politics,  he  urged  them  to  accommodate  their  differences 
by  mutual  yieldings..  “A  measure  of  this  sort,”  observed 
he,  “ would  produce  harmony  and  consequent  good  in  our 
public  councils,  and  the  contrary  will  inevitably  produce 
confusion  and  serious  mischiefs;  and  all  for  what?  Because 
mankind  cannot  think  alike,  but  would  adopt  different  means 
to  attain  the  same  end.  For  I  will  frankly  and  solemnly 
declare  that  I  believe  the  views  of  both  to  be  pure  and  well 
meant,  and  that  experience  only  will  decide  with  respect 
to  the  salutariness  of  the  measures  which  are  the  subjects 
of  this  dispute. 


244 


Worlds  of  lI/a8l?ir?3toi)  Irvii}$ 


“  Why,  then,  when  some  of  the  best  citizens  of  the  United 
States — men  of  discernment — uniform  and  tried  patriots — 
who  have  no  sinister  views  to  promote,  but  are  chaste  in 
their  ways  of  thinking  and  acting,  are  to  be  found,  some 
on  one  side  and  some  on  the  other  of  the  questions  which 
have  caused  these  agitations — why  should  either  of  you  be 
so  tenacious  of  your  opinions  as  to  make  no  allowance  for 
those  of  the  other?  .  .  . 

“I  have  a  great,  a  sincere  esteem  and  regard  for  you 
both;  and  ardently  wish  that  some  line  could  be  marked  out 
by  which  both  of  you  could  walk.  ’  * 


CHAPTER  SEVENTEEN 

s 

Washington  unanimously  re-elected — Opening  of  Session  of  Con¬ 
gress — Topics  of  the  President’s  Speech — Abortive  attack  upon 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury — Washington  installed  for  his 
Second  Term 

It  was  after  a  long  and  painful  conflict  of  feelings  that 
Washington  consented  to  be  a  candidate  for  re-election. 
There  was  no  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  public,  and  the 
vote  for  him  in  the  Electoral  College  was  unanimous.  In 
a  letter  to  a  friend,  he  declared  himself  gratefully  impressed 
by  so  distinguished  and  honorable  a  testimony  of  public 
approbation  and  confidence.  In  truth  he  had  been  appre¬ 
hensive  of  being  elected  by  but  a  meager  majority,  which 
he  acknowledged  would  have  been  a  matter  of  chagrin. 

George  Clinton,  of  New  York,  was  held  up  for  the  Vice- 
Presidency,  in  opposition  to  John  Adams;  but  the  latter  was 
re-elected  by  a  majority  of  twenty-seven  electoral  votes. 


Cife  of  U/asbffi^tor) 


245 


But  though  gratified  to  find  that  the  hearts  of  his  country¬ 
men  were  still  with  him,  it  was  with  no  emotion  of  pleasure 
that  Washington  looked  forward  to  another  term  of  public 
duty,  and  a  prolonged  absence  from  the  quiet  retirement  of 
Mount  Vernon. 

The  session  of  Congress,  which  was  to  close  his  present 
term,  opened  on  the  fifth  of  November.  The  continuance 
of  the  Indian  war  formed  a  painful  topic  in  the  President’s 
address.  Efforts  at  pacification  had  as  yet  been  unsuccess¬ 
ful  :  two  brave  officers,  Colonel  Hardin  and  Major  Truman, 
who  had  been  sent  to  negotiate  with  the  savages,  had  been 
severally  murdered.  Vigorous  preparations  were  therefore 
making  for  an  active  prosecution  of  hostilities,  in  which 
Wayne  was  to  take  the  field.  Washington,  with  benevolent 
earnestness,  dwelt  upon  the  humane  system  of  civilizing  the 
tribes,  by  inculcating  agricultural  tastes  and  habits. 

The  factious  and  turbulent  opposition  which  had  been 
made  in  some  parts  of  the  country  to  the  collection  of  duties 
on  spirituous  liquors  distilled  in  the  United  States  was  like¬ 
wise  adverted  to  by  the  President,  and  a  determination  ex¬ 
pressed  to  assert  and  maintain  the  just  authority  of  the  laws; 
trusting  in  the  “full  co-operation  of  the  other  departments 
of  government,  and  the  zealous  support  of  all  good  citizens.” 

In  a  part  of  the  speech  addressed  to  the  House  of  Repre¬ 
sentatives,  he  expressed  a  strong  hope  that  the  state  of  the 
national  finances  was  now  sufficiently  matured  to  admit  of 
an  arrangement  for  the  redemption  and  discharge  of  the 
public  debt.  “No  measure,”  said  he,  “can  be  more  desir¬ 
able,  whether  viewed  with  an  eye  to  its  intrinsic  importance, 
or  to  the  general  sentiment  and  wish  of  the  nation.” 

The  address  was  well  received  by  both  Houses,  and  a 
disposition  expressed  to  concur  with  the  President’s  views 


246 


U/orl^s  of  li/a8l?ir^tor>  Iruii}$ 


and  wishes.  The  discussion  of  the  subjects  to  which  he  had 
called  their  attention  soon  produced  vehement  conflicts  of 
opinion  in  the  House,  marking  the  growing  virulence  of  par¬ 
ties.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  reporting,  at  the 
request  of  the  House,  a  plan  for  the  annual  reduction  of  so 
much  of  the  national  debt  as  the  United  States  had  a  right 
to  redeem,  spoke  of  the  expenses  of  the  Indian  war,  and  the 
necessity  of  additional  internal  taxes.  The  consideration 
of  the  report  was  parried  or  evaded,  and  a  motion  made 
to  reduce  the  military  establishment.  This  gave  an  oppor¬ 
tunity  for  sternly  criticising  the  mode  in  which  the  Indian 
war  had  been  conducted;  for  discussing  the  comparative 
merits  and  cost  of  regular  and  militia  forces,  and  for  inveigh¬ 
ing  against  standing  armies,  as  dangerous  to  liberty.  These 
discussions,  while  they  elicited  much  heat,  led  to  no  present 
result,  and  gave  way  to  an  inquiry  into  the  conduct  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in  regard  to  certain  loans,  which 
the  President,  in  conformity  to  acts  of  Congress,  had  author¬ 
ized  him  to  make;  but  concerning  the  management  of  which 
he  had  not  furnished  detailed  reports  to  the  legislature.  The 
subject  was  opened  by  Mr.  Giles,  of  Virginia,  who  moved 
in  the  House  of  Representatives  a  series  of  resolutions  seek¬ 
ing  information  in  the  matter,  and  who  followed  his  resolu¬ 
tions  by  a  speech,  charging  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
with  official  misconduct,  and  intimating  that  a  large  balance 
of  public  money  had  not  been  accounted  for. 

A  report  of  the  Secretary  gave  all  the  information  desired ; 
but  the  charges  against  him  continued  to  be  urged  with  great 
acrimony  to  the  close  of  the  session,  when  they  were  signally 
rejected,  not  more  than  sixteen  members  voting  for  any  one 
of  them. 

The  veneration  inspired  by  the  character  of  Washington, 


Cife  of  U/as^ip^top 


247 


and  the  persuasion  that  he  would  never  permit  himself  to 
be  considered  the  head  of  a  party,  had  hitherto  shielded  him 
from  attack;  a  little  circumstance,  however,  showed  that 
the  rancor  of  party  was  beginning  to  glance  at  him. 

On  his  birthday  (Feb.  22)  many  of  the  members  of  Con¬ 
gress  were  desirous  of  waiting  on  him  in  testimony  of  respect 
as  chief  magistrate  of  the  Union,  and  a  motion  was  made 
to  adjourn  for  half  an  hour  for  that  purpose.  It  met 
with  serious  opposition  as  a  species  of  homage — it  was  set¬ 
ting  up  an  idol  dangerous  to  liberty — it  had  a  bias  toward 
monarchy ! 

Washington,  though  he  never  courted  popularity,  was 
attentive  to  the  signs  of  public  opinion,  and  disposed  to  be 
guided  by  them  when  right.  The  time  for  entering  upon 
his  second  term  of  Presidency  was  at  hand.  There  had  been 
much  caviling  at  the  parade  attending  his  first  installation. 
Jefferson  especially  had  pronounced  it  “not  at  all  in  char¬ 
acter  with  the  simplicity  of  republican  government,  and  look 
ing,  as  if  wishfully,  to  those  of  European  courts.” 

To  guide  him  on  the  coming  occasion,  Washington  called 
the  heads  of  departments  together,  and  desired  they  would 
consult  with  one  another,  and  agree  on  any  changes  they 
might  consider  for  the  better,  assuring  them  he  would  will¬ 
ingly  conform  to  whatever  they  should  advise. 

They  held  such  consultation,  and  ultimately  gave  their 
individual  opinions  in  writing,  with  regard  to  the  time,  man¬ 
ner  and  place  of  the  President’s  taking  the  oath  of  office. 
As  they  were  divided  in  opinion,  and  gave  no  positive  advice 
as  to  any  change,  no  change  was  made.  On  the  4th  of 
March,  the  oath  was  publicly  administered  to  Washington 
by  Mr.  Justice  Cushing,  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  in  presence 
of  the  heads  of  departments,  foreign  ministers,  such  members 


248 


U/or^s  of  U/asl?ir;M$tor}  Iruir)<$ 


of  the  House  of  Representatives  as  were  in  town,  and  as 
many  other  spectators  as  could  be  accommodated. 


CHAPTER  EIGHTEEN 

Gouverneur  Morris  Minister  at  the  French  Court — His  Representa¬ 
tions  of  the  State  of  Affairs — Washington’s  Concern  for  La¬ 
fayette — Jefferson  annoyed  at  his  Forebodings — Overthrow  of 
the  French  Monarchy — Imprisonment  of  Lafayette — Jefferson 
concerned,  but  not  discouraged  at  the  Republican  Massacres — 
Washington  shocked — His  Letter  to  the  Marchioness  Lafayette 

Early  in  1792,  Gouverneur  Morris  had  received  the 
appointment  of  minister  plenipotentiary  to  the  French  court. 
His  diplomatic  correspondence  from  Paris  gave  shocking- 
accounts  of  the  excesses  attending  the  revolution.  France 
he  represented  as  governed  by  Jacobin  clubs.  Lafayette, 
by  endeavoring  to  check  their  excesses,  had  completely  lost 
his  authority.  “Were  he  to  appear  just  now  in  Paris,  un¬ 
attended  by  his  army,”  writes  Morris,  “he  would  be  torn 
to  pieces.”  Washington  received  these  accounts  with  deep 
concern.  What  was  to  be  the  fate  of  that  distracted  country 
— what  was  to  be  the  fate  of  his  friend ! 

Jefferson  was  impatient  of  these  gloomy  picturings;  es¬ 
pecially  when  he  saw  their  effect  upon  Washington’s  mind. 
“The  fact  is,”  writes  he,  “that  Gouverneur  Morris,  a  high¬ 
flying  monarchy  man,  shutting  his  eyes  and  his  faith  to 
every  fact  against  his  wishes,  and  believing  everything  he 
desires  to  be  true,  has  kept  the  President’s  mind  constantly 
poisoned  with  his  forebodings.” 

His  forebodings,  however,  were  soon  verified.  Lafayette 
addressed  from  his  camp  a  letter  to  the  Legislative  Assembly, 


Clfe  of  WastyyqtOT) 


249 


formally  denouncing  the  conduct  of  the  Jacobin  club  as 
violating  the  declaration  of  rights  and  the  constitution. 

His  letter  was  of  no  avail.  On  the  20th  of  June  bands 
from  the  Faubourg  St.  Antoine,  armed  with  pikes,  and 
headed  by  Santerre,  marched  to  the  Tuileries,  insulted  the 
king  in  the  presence  of  his  family,  obliging  him  to  put  on 
the  bonnet  rouge ,  the  baleful  cap  of  liberty  of  the  revolu¬ 
tion.  Lafayette,  still  loyal  to  his  sovereign,  hastened  to 
Paris,  appeared  at  the  bar  of  the  Assembly,  and  demanded, 
in  the  name  of  the  army,  the  punishment  of  those  who  had 
thus  violated  the  constitution,  by  insulting  in  his  palace  the 
chief  of  the  executive  power.  His  intervention  proved  of 
no  avail,  and  he  returned  with  a  sad  and  foreboding  heart 
to  his  army. 

On  the  9th  of  August,  Paris  was  startled  by  the  sound 
of  the  fatal  tocsin  at  midnight.  On  the  10th  the  chateau 
of  the  Tuileries  was  attacked,  and  the  Swiss  guard  who 
defended  it  were  massacred.  The  king  and  queen  took 
refuge  in  the  National  Assembly,  which  body  decreed  the 
suspension  of  the  king’s  authority. 

It  was  at  once  the  overthrow  of  the  monarchy,  the  anni¬ 
hilation  of  the  constitutional  party,  and  the  commencement 
of  the  reign  of  terror.  Lafayette,  who  was  the  head  of  the 
constitutionalists,  was  involved  in  their  downfall.  The 
Jacobins  denounced  him  in  the  National  Assembly;  his 
arrest  was  decreed,  and  emissaries  were  sent  to  carry  the 
decree  into  effect.  At  first  he  thought  of  repairing  at  once 
to  Paris  and  facing  his  accusers,  but,  on  second  thoughts, 
determined  to  bend  before  the  storm  and  await  the  return 
of  more  propitious  days. 

Leaving  everything  in  order  in  his  army,  which  remained 
encamped  at  Sedan,  he  set  off  with  a  few  trusty  friends  for 


250 


U/or^e  of  U/asf?ir)$tor)  Iruii?<$ 


the  Netherlands,  to  seek  an  asylum  in  Holland  or  the  United 
States;  but,  with  his  companions,  was  detained  a  prisoner 
at  Rochefort,  the  first  Austrian  post. 

‘‘Thus  his  circle  is  completed,”  writes  Morris.  “He  has 
spent  his  fortune  on  a  revolution,  and  is  now  crushed  by  the 
wheel  which  he  put  in  motion.  He  lasted  longer  than  I 
expected.” 

W ashington  looked  with  a  sadder  eye  on  this  catastrophe 
of  Lafayette’s  high-hearted  and  gallant  aspirations,  and 
mourned  over  the  adverse  fortunes  of  his  friend. 

The  reign  of  terror  continued.  “We  have  had  one  week 
of  unchecked  murders,  in  which  some  thousands  have  per¬ 
ished  in  the  city,”  writes  Morris  to  Jefferson,  on  the  10th  of 
September.  “It  began  with  between  two  and  three  hundred 
of  the  clergy,  who  had  been  shot  because  they  would  not 
take  the  oaths  prescribed  by  the  law,  and  which  they  said 
were  contrary  to  their  conscience.”  Thence  these  executors 
of  speedy  justice  went  to  the  abbaye ,  where  persons  were 
confined  who  were  at  court  on  the  10th  of  August.  These 
were  dispatched  also,  and  afterward  they  visited  the  other 
prisons.  “All  those  who  were  confined  either  on  the  accusa¬ 
tion  or  suspicion  of  crimes  were  destroyed.” 

The  accounts  of  these  massacres  grieved  Mr.  Jefferson. 
They  were  shocking  in  themselves,  and  he  feared  they  might 
bring  great  discredit  upon  the  Jacobins  of  France,  whom  he 
considered  republican  patriots,  bent  on  the  establishment  of 
a  free  constitution.  They  had  acquiesced  for  a  time,  said 
he,  in  the  experiment  of  retaining  a  hereditary  executive, 
but  finding,  if  pursued,  it  would  insure  the  re-establishment 
of  a  despotism,  they  considered  it  absolutely  indispensable  to 
expunge  that  office.  “In  the  struggle  which  was  necessary, 
many  guilty  persons  fell  without  the  forms  of  trial,  and  with 


Cife  of  U/a8t?ip<$toi? 


251 


them,  some  innocent.  These  I  deplore  as  much  as  anybody, 
and  shall  deplore  some  of  them  to  the  day  of  my  death.  But 
I  deplore  them  as  I  should  have  done  had  they  fallen  in  bat¬ 
tle.  It  was  necessary  to  use  the  arm  of  the  people,  a  ma¬ 
chine  not  quite  so  blind  as  balls  and  bombs,  but  blind  to  a 
certain  degree.  A  few  of  their  cordial  friends  met  at  their 
hands  the  fate  of  enemies.  But  time  and  truth  will  rescue 
and  embalm  their  memories,  while  their  posterity  will  be  en¬ 
joying  that  very  liberty  for  which  they  would  never  have 
hesitated  to  offer  up  their  lives.  The  liberty  of  the  whole 
earth  was  depending  on  the  issue  of  the  contest,  and  was 
ever  such  a  prize  won  with  so  little  innocent  blood?  My  own 
affections  have  been  deeply  wounded  by  some  of  the  martyrs 
to  this  cause,  but  rather  than  it  should  have  failed,  I  would 
have  seen  half  the  earth  desolated ;  were  there  but  an  Adam 
and  Eve  left  in  every  country,  and  left  free,  it  would  be  bet¬ 
ter  than  as  it  now  is.”  * 

Washington,  who  contemplated  the  French  revolution 
with  a  less  sanguine  eye  than  Jefferson,  was  simply  shocked 
at  the  atrocities  which  disgraced  it,  and  at  the  dangers  to  be 
apprehended  from  an  unrestrained  populace.  A  letter  which 
he  received  from  Gouverneur  Morris  (dated  October  23d), 
placed  the  condition  of  the  unfortunate  Louis  XVI.,  the  an¬ 
cient  friend  and  ally  of  America,  in  a  light  to  awaken  his 
benevolent  sympathy.  “You  will  have  seen,”  writes  Morris, 
“that  the  king  is  accused  of  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors; 
but  I  verily  believe  that  he  wished  sincerely  for  this  nation 
the  enjoyment  of  the  utmost  degree  of  liberty  which  their 
situation  and  circumstances  will  permit.  He  wished  for  a 
good  constitution,  but,  unfortunately,  he  had  not  the  means 


*  Letter  to  Mr.  Short.  Jefferson’s  Works,  iii.  501. 


252 


U/orks  of  U/asl?ir}<$tor}  Iruir?$ 


to  obtain  it,  or,  if  he  had,  he  was  thwarted  by  those  about 
him.  What  may  be  his  fate  God  only  knows,  but  history 
informs  us  that  the  passage  of  dethroned  monarchs  is  short 
from  the  prison  to  the  grave.” 

Nothing,  however,  in  all  the  eventful  tidings  from  France, 
gave  Washington  greater  concern  than  the  catastrophe  of  his 
friend  Lafayette.  His  first  thoughts  prompted  the  consola¬ 
tion  and  assistance  of  the  marohioness.  In  a  letter  to  her  he 
writes :  “If  I  had  words  that  could  convey  to  you  an  ade¬ 
quate  idea  of  my  feelings  on  the  present  situation  of  the  Mar¬ 
quis  Lafayette,  this  letter  would  appear  to  you  in  a  different 
garb.  The  sole  object  in  writing  to  you  now  is  to  inform 
you  that  I  have  deposited  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Nicholas  Van 
Staphorst  of  Amsterdam,  two  thousand  three  hundred  and 
ten  guilders,  Holland  currency,  equal  to  two  hundred 
guineas,  subject  to  your  orders. 

“This  sum  is,  I  am  certain,  the  least  I  am  indebted  for 
services  rendered  me  by  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  of  which 
1  never  yet  have  received  the  account.  I  could  add  much, 
but  it  is  best,  perhaps,  that  I  should  say  little  on  this  sub¬ 
ject.  Your  goodness  will  supply  my  deficiency. 

“The  uncertainty  of  your  situation,  after  all  the  inquiries 
I  have  made,  has  occasioned  a  delay  in  this  address  and  re¬ 
mittance;  and  even  now  the  measure  adopted  is  more  the 
effect  of  a  desire  to  find  where  you  are  than  from  any  knowl¬ 
edge  I  have  obtained  of  your  residence.” 

Mme.  de  Lafayette,  in  fact,  was  at  that  time  a  prisoner 
in  France,  in  painful  ignorance  of  her  husband’s  fate.  She 
had  been  commanded  by  the  Jacobin  committee  to  repair  to 
Paris  about  the  time  of  the  massacres,  but  was  subsequently 
permitted  to  reside  at  Chavaniac,  under  the  surveillance  of 
the  municipality. 


Cife  of  U/asfiir^tor) 


253 


We  will  anticipate  events  by  adding  here  that  some  time 
afterward,  finding  her  husband  was  a  prisoner  in  Austria, 
she  obtained  permission  to  leave  France,  and  ultimately, 
with  her  two  daughters,  joined  him  in  his  prison  at  Olmutz. 
George  Washington  Lafayette,  the  son  of  the  general,  de¬ 
termined  to  seek  an  asylum  in  America. 

In  the  meantime,  the  arms  of  revolutionary  France  were 
crowned  with  great  success.  “Towns  fall  before  them  with¬ 
out  a  blow,”  writes  Gouverneur  Morris,  “and  the  declara¬ 
tion  of  rights  produces  an  effect  equal  at  least  to  the  trump¬ 
ets  of  Joshua.  ”  But  Morris  was  far  from  drawing  a  favorable 
augury  from  this  success.  “We  must  observe  the  civil, 
moral,  religious  and  political  institutions,”  said  he.  “These 
have  a  steady  and  lasting  effect,  and  these  only.  .  .  .  Since 
I  have  been  in  this  country,  I  have  seen  the  worship  of  many 
idols,  and  but  little  of  the  true  God.  I  have  seen  many  of 
those  idols  broken,  and  some  of  them  beaten  to  dust.  I  have 
seen  the  late  constitution,  in  one  short  year,  admired  as  a 
stupendous  monument  of  human  wisdom,  and  ridiculed  as 
an  egregious  production  of  folly  and  vice.  I  wish  much, 
very  much,  the  happiness  of  this  inconstant  people.  I  love 
them.  I  feel  grateful  for  their  efforts  in  our  cause,  and  I 
consider  the  establishment  of  a  good  constitution  here  as  the 
principal  means,  under  Divine  Providence,  of  extending  the 
blessings  of  freedom  to  the  many  millions  of  my  fellow- 
men,  who  groan  in  bondage  on  the  continent  of  Europe. 
But  I  do  not  greatly  indulge  the  flattering  illusions  of  hope, 
because  I  do  not  yet  perceive  that  reformation  of  morals, 
without  which  liberty  is  but  an  empty  sound.”  * 


* 


Life  of  Morris,  ii.  248. 


254 


ll/orl^s  of  U/asl?io<$t:oi}  Iruip$ 


CHAPTER  NINETEEN 

Washington’s  Entrance  upon  his  Second  Term — Gloomy  Auspices — 
Execution  of  Louis  XVI. — France  declares  War  against  Eng¬ 
land — Belligerent  Excitement  in  America — Proclamation  of 
Neutrality — French  Mission  to  the  United  States — Genet  ar¬ 
rives  in  Charleston — His  Reception  in  Philadelphia — Views  of 
Jefferson  and  Hamilton — Washington’s  dispassionate  Opinion 

It  was  under  gloomy  auspices,  a  divided  cabinet,  and  in¬ 
creasing  exasperation  of  parties,  a  suspicion  of  monarchial 
tendencies,  and  a  threatened  abatement  of  popularity,  that 
W  ashington  entered  upon  his  second  term  of  Presidency.  It 
was  a  portentous  period  in  the  history  of  the  world,  for  in  a 
little  while  came  news  of  that  tragical  event,  the  beheading 
of  Louis  XVI.  It  was  an  event  deplored  by  many  of  the 
truest  advocates  of  liberty  in  America,  who,  like  Washing¬ 
ton,  remembered  that  unfortunate  monarch  as  the  friend  of 
their  country  in  her  Revolutionary  struggle ;  but  others,  zeal¬ 
ots  in  the  cause  of  political  reform,  considered  it  with  com¬ 
placency,  as  sealing  the  downfall  of  the  French  monarchy 
and  the  establishment  of  a  republic. 

An  event  followed  hard  upon  it  to  shake  the  quiet  of  the 
world.  Early  in  April  intelligence  was  received  that  France 
had  declared  war  against  England.  Popular  excitement  was 
now  wound  up  to  the  highest  pitch.  What,  it  was  asked, 
were  Americans  to  do  in  such  a  juncture?  Could  they  re¬ 
main  unconcerned  spectators  of  a  conflict  between  their  an¬ 
cient  enemy  and  republican  France?  Should  they  fold  their 
arms  and  look  coldly  on  a  war,  begun,  it  is  true,  by  France, 


Cife  of  U/a8f?ir)<$tor} 


255 


but  threatening  the  subversion  of  the  republic,  and  the  re¬ 
establishment  of  a  monarchial  government? 

Many,  in  the  wild  enthusiasm  of  the  moment,  would  at 
once  have  precipitated  the  country  into  a  war.  Fortunately 
this  belligerent  impulse  was  not  general,  and  was  checked 
by  the  calm,  controlling  wisdom  of  Washington.  He  was 
at  Mount  Vernon  when  he  received  news  of  the  war,  and 
understood  that  American  vessels  were  already  designated, 
and  some  even  fitting  out  to  serve  in  it  as  privateers.  He 
forthwith  dispatched  a  letter  to  Jefferson  on  the  subject. 
“War  having  actually  commenced  between  France  and 
Great  Britain,”  writes  he,  “it  behooves  the  government 
of  this  country  to  use  every  means  in  its  power  to  prevent 
the  citizens  thereof  from  embroiling  us  with  either  of  those 
powers,  by  endeavoring  to  maintain  a  strict  neutrality.” 

Hastening  back  to  Philadelphia,  he  held  a  cabinet  coun¬ 
cil  on  the  19th  of  April,  to  deliberate  on  the  measures  proper 
to  be  observed  by  the  United  States  in  the  present  crisis; 
and  to  determine  upon  a  general  plan  of  conduct  for  the 
Executive. 

In  this  council  it  was  unanimously  determined  that  a 
proclamation  should  be  issued  by  the  President,  “forbidding 
the  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  take  part  in  any  hostili¬ 
ties  on  the  seas,  and  warning  them  against  carrying  to  the 
belligerents  any  articles  deemed  contraband  according  to  the 
modern  usages  of  nations,  and  forbidding  all  acts  and  pro¬ 
ceedings  inconsistent  with  the  duties  of  a  friendly  nation 
toward  those  at  war.” 

It  was  unanimously  agreed  also,  that  should  the  republic 
of  France  send  a  minister  to  the  United  States,  he  should  be 
received. 

Ho  one  at  the  present  day  questions  the  wisdom  of  Wash- 


25V 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?ii7<$tor)  Irvip^ 


ington’s  proclamation  of  neutrality.  It  was  our  true  policy 
to  keep  aloof  from  European  war,  in  which  our  power  would 
be  inefficient,  our  loss  certain.  The  measure,  however,  was 
at  variance  with  the  enthusiastic  feelings  and  excited  pas¬ 
sions  of  a  large  portion  of  the  citizens.  They  treated  it  for 
a  time  with  some  forbearance,  out  of  long-cherished  rever¬ 
ence  for  Washington’s  name;  but  his  popularity,  hitherto 
unlimited,  was  no  proof  against  the  inflamed  state  of  pub¬ 
lic  feeling.  The  proclamation  was  stigmatized  as  a  royal 
edict;  a  daring  assumption  of  power;  an  open  manifestation 
of  partiality  for  England  and  hostility  to  France. 

Washington  saw  that  a  deadly  blow  was  aimed  at  his  in¬ 
fluence  and  his  administration,  and  that  both  were  at  hazard ; 
but  he  was  convinced  that  neutrality  was  the  true  national 
policy,  and  he  resolved  to  maintain  it,  whatever  might  be 
his  immediate  loss  of  popular  favor.  His  resolution  was 
soon  put  to  the  test. 

The  French  republic  had  recently  appointed  Edmond 
Charles  Genet,  or  “Citizen  Genet,”  as  he  was  styled,  min¬ 
ister  to  the  United  States.  He  was  represented  as  a  young 
man  of  good  parts,  very  well  educated,  and  of  an  ardent 
temper.  He  had  served  in  the  bureau  of  Foreign  Affairs 
under  the  ministry  of  Vergennes,  and  been  employed  in  va¬ 
rious  diplomatic  situations  until  the  overthrow  of  the  mon¬ 
archy,  when  he  joined  the  popular  party,  became  a  political 
zealot,  and  member  of  the  J acobin  club,  and  was  rewarded 
with  the  mission  to  America. 

A  letter  from  Gouverneur  Morris  apprised  Mr.  Jefferson 
that  the  Executive  Council  had  furnished  Genet  with  three 
hundred  blank  commissions  for  privateers,  to  be  given  clan¬ 
destinely  to  such  persons  as  he  might  find  in  America  in¬ 
clined  to  take  them.  “They  suppose,”  writes  Morris,  “that 


Cife  of  U/asl?ir)<$tO]7 


257 


the  avidity  of  some  adventurers  may  lead  them  into  meas¬ 
ures  which  would  involve  altercations  with  Great  Britain, 
and  terminate  finally  in  a  war.” 

Genet’s  conduct  proved  the  correctness  of  this  informa¬ 
tion.  He  had  landed  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  from 
the  French  frigate  the  “Ambuscade,”  on  the  8th  of  April, 
a  short  time  before  the  proclamation  of  neutrality,  and  was 
received  with  great  rejoicing  and  extravagant  demonstra¬ 
tions  of  respect.  His  landing  at  a  port  several  hundred 
miles  from  the  seat  of  government  was  a  singular  move  for 
a  diplomat ;  but  his  object  in  so  doing  was  soon  evident.  It 
is  usual  for  a  foreign  minister  to  present  his  credentials  to 
the  government  to  which  he  comes,  and  be  received  by  it  in 
form  before  he  presumes  to  enter  upon  the  exercise  of  liis 
functions.  Citizen  Genet,  however,  did  not  stop  for  these 
formalities.  Confident  in  his  nature,  heated  in  his  zeal,  and 
flushed  with  the  popular  warmth  of  his  reception,  he  could 
not  pause  to  consider  the  proprieties  of  his  mission  and  the 
delicate  responsibilities  involved  in  diplomacy.  The  con¬ 
tiguity  of  Charleston  to  the  "West  Indies  made  it  a  favor¬ 
able  port  for  fitting  out  privateers  against  the  trade  of  these 
islands;  and  during  Genet’s  short  sojourn  there  he  issued 
commissions  for  arming  and  equipping  vessels  of  war  for 
that  purpose,  and  manning  them  with  Americans. 

In  the  latter  part  of  April,  Genet  set  out  for  the  North 
by  land.  As  he  proceeded  on  his  journey,  the  newspapers 
teemed  with  accounts  of  the  processions  and  addresses  with 
which  he  was  greeted,  and  the  festivities  which  celebrated 
his  arrival  at  each  place.  Jefferson,  in  a  letter  to  Madison 
written  from  Philadelphia  on  the  5th  of  May,  observes  with 
exultation:  “The  war  between  France  and  England  seems 
to  be  producing  an  effect  not  contemplated.  All  the  old 


258 


U/orl^s  of  U/as^ip^tor?  Iruip$ 


spirit  of  1776,  rekindling  the  newspapers  from  Boston  to 
Charleston,  proves  this;  and  even  the  monocrat  papers  are 
obliged  to  publish  the  most  furious  philippics  against  Eng¬ 
land.  A  French  frigate*  took  a  British  prize  [the  ‘Grange’] 
off  the  Capes  of  Delaware  the  other  day,  and  sent  her  up 
here.  Upon  her  coming  into  sight,  thousands  and  thousands 
of  the  yeomanry  of  the  city  crowded  and  covered  the  wharfs. 
Never  was  there  such  a  crowd  seen  there;  and  when  the  Brit¬ 
ish  colors  were  seen  reversed,  and  the  French  flying  above 
them,  they  burst  into  peals  of  exultation.  I  wish  we  may  be 
able  to  repress  the  spirit  of  the  people  within  the  limits  of  a 
fair  neutrality.  ...  We  expect  Genet  daily.” 

A  friend  of  Hamilton  writes  in  a  different  vein.  Speak¬ 
ing  of  Genet,  he  observes :  ‘  ‘  He  has  a  good  person,  a  fine 
ruddy  complexion,  quite  active,  and  seems  always  in  a  bustle, 
more  like  a  busy  man  than  a  man  of  business.  A  French¬ 
man  in  his  manners,  he  announces  himself  in  all  companies 
as  the  minister  of  the  republic,  etc.,  talks  freely  of  his  com¬ 
mission,  and,  like  most  Europeans,  seems  to  have  adopted 
mistaken  notions  of  the  penetration  and  knowledge  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States.  His  system,  I  think,  is  to  laugh 
us  into  the  war  if  he  can.” 

On  the  16th  of  May,  Genet  arrived  at  Philadelphia.  His 
belligerent  operations  at  Charleston  had  already  been  made 
a  subject  of  complaint  to  the  government  by  Mr.  Hammond, 
the  British  minister;  but  they  produced  no  abatement  in  the 
public  enthusiasm.  “It  was  suspected,”  writes  Jefferson, 
“that  there  was  not  a  clear  mind  in  the  President’s  counsel¬ 
ors  to  receive  Genet.  The  citizens,  however,  determined  to 
receive  him.  Arrangements  were  taken  for  meeting  him  at 


*  The  “Ambuscade.” 


Cife  of  U/as^ir><$tor> 


259 


Gray’s  Ferry,  in  a  great  body.  He  escaped  that,  by  arriv¬ 
ing  in  town  with  the  letters  which  brought  information  that 
he  was  on  the  road.”  * 

On  the  following  day,  various  societies  and  a  large  body 
of  citizens  waited  upon  him  with  addresses,  recalling  with 
gratitude  the  aid  given  by  France  in  the  achievement  of 
American  independence,  and  extolling  and  rejoicing  in  the 
success  of  the  arms  of  the  French  republic.  On  the  same 
day,  before  Genet  had  presented  his  credentials  and  been 
acknowledged  by  the  President,  he  was  invited  to  a  grand 
republican  dinner,  “at  which,”  we  are  told,  “the  company 
united  in  singing  the  Marseilles  hymn.  A  deputation  of 
French  sailors  presented  themselves,  and  were  received  by 
the  guests  with  the  'fraternal  embrace.’  The  table  was 
decorated  with  the  ‘tree  of  liberty,’  and  a  red  cap,  called 
the  cap  of  liberty,  was  placed  on  the  head  of  the  minister, 
and  from  his  traveled  in  succession  from  head  to  head  round 
the  table.”  f 

This  enthusiasm  of  the  multitude  was  regarded  with  in¬ 
dulgence,  if  not  favor,  by  Jefferson,  as  being  the  efferves¬ 
cence  of  the  true  spirit  of  liberty;  but  was  deprecated  by 
Hamilton  as  an  infatuation  that  might  “do  us  much  harm, 
and  could  do  France  no  good.”  A  letter,  written  by  him  at 
the  time,  is  worthy  of  full  citation,  as  embodying  the  senti¬ 
ments  of  that  party  of  which  he  was  the  leader.  “It  cannot 
be  without  danger  and  inconvenience  to  our  interests,  to  im¬ 
press  on  the  nations  of  Europe  an  idea  that  we  are  actuated 
by  the  same  spirit  which  has  for  some  time  past  fatally  mis¬ 
guided  the  measures  of  those  who  conduct  the  affairs  of 


*  Letter  to  Madison,  Works,  iii.  562. 
f  Jay’s  Life,  vol.  i.,  p.  301. 


^60  U/orks  of  U/asl?iQ^tor>  Iruir><$ 

Franc©,  and  sullied  a  cause  once  glorious,  and  that  might 
have  been  triumphant.  Th©  cause  of  France  is  compared 
with  that  of  America  during  its  late  revolution.  Would  to 
Heaven  that  the  comparison  were  just!  Would  to  Heaven 
we  could  discern,  in  the  mirror  of  French  affairs,  the  same 
decorum,  the  same  gravity,  the  same  order,  the  same  dig¬ 
nity,  the  same  solemnity,  which  distinguished  the  cause  of 
the  American  revolution!  Clouds  and  darkness  would  not 
then  rest  upon  the  issue  as  they  now  do.  I  own  I  do  not 
like  the  comparison.  When  I  contemplate  the  horrid  and 
systematic  massacres  of  the  2d  and  3d  of  September;  when 
I  observe  that  a  Marat  and  a  Robespierre,  the  notorious’ 
prompters  of  those  bloody  scenes,  sit  triumphantly  in  the 
convention,  and  take  a  conspicuous  part  in  its  measures — 
that  an  attempt  to  bring  the  assassins  to  justice  has  been 
obliged  to  be  abandoned — when  I  see  an  unfortunate  prince, 
whose  reign  was  a  continued  demonstration  of  the  goodness 
and  benevolence  of  his  heart,  of  his  attachment  to  the  people 
of  whom  he  was  the  monarch,  who,  though  educated  in  the 
lap  of  despotism,  had  given  repeated  proofs  that  he  was  not 
the  enemy  of  liberty,  brought  precipitately  and  ignominiously 
to  the  block  without  any  substantial  proof  of  guilt,  as  yet 
disclosed — without  even  an  authentic  exhibition  of  motives, 
in  decent  regard  to  the  opinions  of  mankind ;  when  I  find  the 
doctrines  of  atheism  openly  advanced  in  the  convention,  and 
heard  with  loud  applauses;  when  I  see  the  sword  of  fanati¬ 
cism  extended  to  force  a  political  creed  upon  citizens  who 
were  invited  to  submit  to  the  arms  of  France  as  the  harbing¬ 
ers  of  liberty;  when  I  behold  the  hand  of  rapacity  out¬ 
stretched  to  prostrate  and  ravish  the  monuments  of  relig¬ 
ious  worship,  erected  by  those  citizens  and  their  ancestors ; 
when  I  perceive  passion,  tumult,  and  violence  usurping  those 


Cife  of  U/asfyir^tor? 


261 


seats,  where  reason  and  cool  deliberation  ought  to  preside,  I 
acknowledge  that  I  am  glad  to  believe  there  is  no  real  resem¬ 
blance  between  what  was  the  cause  of  America  and  what  is 
the  cause  of  France ;  that  the  difference  is  no  less  great  than 
that  between  liberty  and  licentiousness.  I  regret  whatever 
has  a  tendency  to  confound  them,  and  I  feel  anxious,  as  an 
American,  that  the  ebullitions  of  inconsiderate  men  among 
us  may  not  tend  to  involve  our  reputation  in  the  issue.”  * 
Washington,  from  his  elevated  and  responsible  situation, 
endeavored  to  look  beyond  the  popular  excitement,  and  re¬ 
gard  the  affairs  of  France  with  a  dispassionate  and  impartial 
eye;  but  he  confessed  that  he  saw  in  the  turn  they 'had  lately 
taken  the  probability  of  a  terrible  confusion,  to  which  he 
could  predict  no  certain  issue :  a  boundless  ocean  whence  no 
land  was  to  be  seen.  He  feared  less,  he  said,  for  the  cause 
of  liberty  in  France  from  the  pressure  of  foreign  enemies, 
than  from  the  strifes  and  quarrels  of  those  in  whose  hands 
the  government  was  intrusted,  who  were  ready  to  tear  each 
other  to  pieces,  and  would  more  probably  prove  the  worst 
foes  the  country  had. 


v 

CHAPTER  TWENTY 

Genet  presents  his  Letter  of  Credence — His  Diplomatic  Speech — 
Washington’s  Conversation  with  Jefferson — Capture  of  the  Ship 
“Grange”  and  other  British  Vessels — Question  of  Restitution — 
Dissatisfaction  of  Genet — Demands  Release  of  two  American 
Citizens — Washington’s  Sensitiveness  to  the  Attacks  of  the 
Press — His  unshaken  Determination 

» 

On  the  18th  of  May,  Genet  presented  his  letter  of  cre¬ 
dence  to  the  President;  by  whom,  notwithstanding  his  late 


*  Hamilton’s  Works,  v.  566. 


£02  U/orl^s  of  U/asfyir^tor)  Iruii}$ 

unwarrantable  proceedings  at  Charleston,  he  was  well  re¬ 
ceived  ;  W ashington  taking  the  occasion  to  express  his  sin¬ 
cere  regard  for  the  French  nation. 

Jefferson,  who,  as  Secretary  of  State,  was  present,  had 
all  his  warm  sympathies  in  favor  of  France  roused  by  Ge¬ 
net’s  diplomatic  speech. 

“It  was  impossible,”  writes  he  to  Madison,  “for  anything 
to  be  more  affectionate,  more  magnanimous,  than  the  pur¬ 
port  of  Genet’s  mission.  ‘We  wish  you  to  do  nothing,’  said 
he,  ‘but  what  is  for  your  own  good,  and  we  will  do  all  in  our 
power  to  promote  it.  Cherish  your  own  peace  and  prosper¬ 
ity.  You  have  expressed  a  willingness  to  enter  into  a  more 
liberal  commerce  with  us ;  I  bring  full  powers  to  form  such 
a  treaty,  and  a  preliminary  decree  of  the  National  Conven¬ 
tion  to  lay  open  our  country  and  its  colonies  to  you,  for  every 
purpose  of  utility,  without  your  participating  the  burdens  of 
maintaining  and  defending  them.  We  see  in  you  the  only 
person  on  earth  who  can  love  us  sincerely,  and  merit  to  be 
so  loved.’  In  short,  he  offers  everything,  and  asks  nothing.” 

“Yet  I  know  the  offers  will  be  opposed,”  adds  Jefferson, 
“and  suspect  they  will  not  be  accepted.  In  short,  my  dear 
sir,  it  is  impossible  for  you  to  conceive  what  is  passing  in 
our  conclave ;  and  it  is  evident  that  one  or  two,  at  least,  un¬ 
der  pretense  of  avoiding  war  on  the  one  side,  have  no  great 
antipathy  to  run  foul  of  it  on  the  other,  and  to  make  a  part 
in  the  confederacy  of  princes  against  human  liberty.” 

The  “one  or  two,”  in  the  paragraph  above  cited,  no 
doubt,  imply  Hamilton  and  Knox. 

Washington  again,  in  conversation,  endeavored  to  coun¬ 
teract  these  suspicions  which  were  swaying  Jefferson’s  mind 
against  his  contemporaries.  We  give  Jefferson’s  own  ac¬ 
count  of  the  conversation.  “He  (Washington)  observed 


Cife  of  U/as^ip^top 


263 


that,  if  anybody  wanted  to  change  the  form  of  our  govern¬ 
ment  into  a  monarchy,  he  was  sure  it  was.  only  a  few  indi¬ 
viduals,  and  that  no  man  in  the  United  States  would  set  his 
face  against  it  more  than  himself ;  but  that  this  was  not 
what  he  was  afraid  of ;  his  fears  were  from  another  quarter ; 
that  there  was  more  danger  of  anarchy  being  introduced .” 

He  then  adverted  to  Freneau’s  paper  and  its  partisan  hos¬ 
tilities.  He  despised,  he  said,  all  personal  attacks  upon  him¬ 
self,  but  obsei  ved  that  there  never  had  been  an  act  of  the 
government  which  that  paper  had  not  abused.  “He  was 
evidently  sore  and  warm,”  adds  Jefferson,  “and  I  took  his 
intention  to  be  that  I  should  interpose  in  some  way  with 
Freneau;  perhaps,  withdraw  his  appointment  of  translating 
clerk  in  my  office.  But  I  will  not  do  it.” 

It  appears  to  us  rather  an  ungracious  determination  on 
the  part  of  Jefferson  to  keep  this  barking  cur  in  his  employ, 
when  he  found  him  so  annoying  to  the  chief  whom  he  pro¬ 
fessed,  and  we  believe  with  sincerity,  to  revere.  Neither 
are  his  reasons  for  so  doing  satisfactory,  savoring,  as  they 
do,  of  those  strong  political  suspicions  already  noticed.  “His 
(Freneau’s)  paper,”  observed  he,  “has  saved  our  constitu¬ 
tion,  which  was  galloping  fast  into  monarchy,  and  has  been 
checked  by  no  means  so  powerfully  as  by  that  paper.  It  is 
well  and  universally  known  that  it  has  been  that  paper 
which  checked  the  career  of  the  monocrats;  the  President, 
not  sensible  of  the  designs  of  the  party,  has  not,  with  his 
usual  good  sense  and  sangfroid ,  looked  on  the  efforts  and 
effects  of  this  free  press,  and  seen  that,  though  some  bad 
things  have  passed  through  it  to  the  public,  yet  the  good 
have  preponderated  immensely.”  * 


*  Works,  ix.  143. 


264 


U/or^8  of  U/asbffi^toi}  Iruir)<2 


Jefferson  was  mistaken.  Washington  had  regarded  the 
efforts  and  effects  of  this  free  press  with  his  usual  good 
sense;  and  the  injurious  influence  it  exercised  in  public 
affairs  was  presently  manifested  in  the  transactions  of  the 
government  with  Genet.  The  acts  of  this  diplomatic  per¬ 
sonage  at  Charleston  had  not  been  the  sole  ground  of  the 
complaint  preferred  by  the  British  minister.  The  capture 
of  the  British  vessel,  the  “Grange,”  by  the  frigate  “Ambus¬ 
cade,”  formed  a  graver  one.  Occurring  within  our  waters, 
it  was  a  clear  usurpation  of  national  sovereignty,  and  a  vio¬ 
lation  of  neutral  rights.  The  British  minister  demanded  a 
restitution  of  the  prize,  and  the  cabinet  were  unanimously  of 
opinion  that  restitution  should  be  made;  nor  was  there  any 
difficulty  with  the  French  minister  on  this  head ;  but  restitu¬ 
tion  was  likewise  claimed  of  other  vessels  captured  on  the 
high  seas,  and  brought  into  port  by  the  privateers  authorized 
by  Genet.  In  regard  to  these  there  was  a  difference  of  sen¬ 
timent  in  the  cabinet.  Hamilton  and  Knox  were  of  opinion 
that  the  government  should  interpose  to  restore  the  prizes ;  it 
being  the  duty  of  a  neutral  nation  to  remedy  any  injury  sus¬ 
tained  by  armaments  fitted  out  in  its  ports.  Jefferson  and 
Randolph  contended  that  the  case  should  be  left  to  the  decis¬ 
ion  of  the  courts  of  justice.  If  the  courts  adjudged  the  com¬ 
missions  issued  by  Genet  to  be  invalid,  they  would,  of  course, 
decide  the  captures  made  under  them  to  be  void,  and  the 
property  to  remain  in  the  original  owners;  if,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  legal  right  to  the  property  had  been  transferred  to 
the  captors,  they  would  so  decide. 

Seeing  this  difference  of  opinion  in  the  cabinet,  Washing¬ 
ton  reserved  the  point  for  further  deliberation;  but  directed 
the  Secretary  of  State  to  communicate  to  the  ministers  of 
France  and  Britain  the  principles  in  which  they  concurred ; 


Cife  of  U/asIpir^tor? 


2G5 


these  being  considered  as  settled.  Circular  letters,  also,  were 
addressed  to  the  governors  of  several  States,  requiring  their 
co-operation,  with  force,  if  necessary,  to  carry  out  the  rules 
agreed  upon. 

Genet  took  umbrage  at  these  decisions  of  the  government, 
and  expressed  his  dissatisfaction  in  a  letter,  complaining  of 
them  as  violations  of  natural  right,  and  subversive  of  tha 
existing  treaties  between  the  two  nations.  His  letter,  though 
somewhat  wanting  in  strict  decorum  of  language,  induced 
a  review  of  the  subject  in  the  cabinet ;  and  he  was  informed 
that  no  reason  appeared  for  changing  the  system  adopted. 
He  was  further  informed  that,  in  the  opinion  of  the  execu¬ 
tive,  the  vessels  which  had  been  illegally  equipped  should 
depart  from  the  ports  of  the  United  States. 

Genet  was  not  disposed  to  acquiesce  in  these  decisions. 
He  was  aware  of  the  grateful  feelings  of  the  nation  to 
France :  of  the  popular  disposition  to  go  all  lengths  short  of 
war,  in  her  favor;  of  the  popular  idea  that  republican  inter¬ 
ests  were  identical  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic ;  that  a  royal 
triumph  over  republicanism  in  Europe  would  be  followed  by 
a  combination  to  destroy  it  in  this  country.  He  had  heard 
the  clamor  among  the  populace,  and  uttered  in  Freneau’s 
“Gazette”  and  other  newspapers  against  the  policy  of  neu¬ 
trality  ;  the  people,  he  thought,  were  with  him,  if  W ashington 
was  not,  and  he  believed  the  latter  would  not  dare  to  risk  his 
popularity  in  thwarting  their  enthusiasm.  He  persisted, 
therefore,  in  disregarding  the  decisions  of  the  government, 
and  spoke  of  them  as  a  departure  from  the  obligations  it 
owed  to  France ;  a  cowardly  abandonment  of  friends  when 
danger  menaced. 

Another  event  added  to  the  irritation  of  Genet.  Two 

American  citizens,  whom  he  had  engaged  at  Charleston,  to 

Vol.  XV.— 5 ***12 


266 


U/or^s  of  U/asfyiQ^top  Iruip<$ 


cruise  in  the  service  of  France,  were  arrested  on  board  of  the 
privateer,  conducted  to  prison,  and  prosecutions  commenced 
against  them.  The  indignant  feelings  of  Genet  were  vented 
in  an  extraordinary  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  State.  When 
speaking  of  their  arrest,  “The  crime  laid  to  their  charge,” 
writes  he — “the  crime  which  my  mind  cannot  conceive,  and 
which  my  pen  almost  refuses  to  state — is  the  serving  of 
France,  and  defending  with  her  children  the  common  glo¬ 
rious  cause  of  liberty. 

“Being  ignorant  of  any  positive  law  or  treaty  which  de¬ 
prives  Americans  of  this  privilege,  and  authorizes  officers  of 
police  arbitrarily  to  take  mariners  in  the  service  of  France 
from  on  board  of  their  vessels,  I  call  upon  your  intervention, 
sir,  and  that  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  in  order 
to  obtain  the  immediate  releasement  of  the  above-mentioned 
officers,  who  have  acquired,  by  the  sentiments  animating 
them,  and  by  the  act  of  their  engagement,  anterior  to  any 
act  to  the  contrary,  the  right  of  French  citizens,  if  they  have 
lost  that  of  American  citizens.” 

The  lofty  and  indignant  tone  of  this  letter  had  no  effect 
in  shaking  the  determination  of  government,  or  obtaining 
the  release  of  the  prisoners.  Washington  confesses,  how¬ 
ever,  that  he  was  very  much  harried  and  perplexed  by  the 
“disputes,  memorials,  and  what  not,”  with  which  he  was 
pestered,  by  one  or  other  of  the  powers  at  war.  It  was  a 
sore  trial  of  his  equanimity,  his  impartiality  and  his  discrimi 
nation,  and  wore  upon  his  spirits  and  his  health.  “The  Pres¬ 
ident  is  not  well,”  writes  Jefferson  to  Madison  (June  9th); 
“little  lingering  fevers  have  been  hanging  about  him  for  a 
week  or  ten  days,  and  affected  his  looks  most  remarkably. 
He  is  also  extremely  affected  by  the  attacks  made  and  kept 
up  on  him,  in  the  public  papers.  I  think  he  feels  these 


Cife  of  U/asfyii^toi) 


267 


things  more  than  any  other  person  I  ever  yet  met  with.  I 
am  sincerely  sorry  to  see  them.” 

Jefferson’s  sorrow  was  hardly  in  accordance  with  the 
resolution  expressed  by  him,  to  retain  Freneau  in  his  office, 
notwithstanding  his  incessant  attacks  upon  the  President 
and  the  measures  of  his  government.  Washington  might 
well  feel  sensitive  to  these  attacks,  which  Jefferson  acknowl¬ 
edges  were  the  more  mischievous,  from  being  planted  on 
popular  ground,  on  the  universal  love  of  the  people  to  France 
and  its  cause.  But  he  was  not  to  be  deterred  by  personal 
considerations  from  the  strict  line  of  his  duty.  He  was 
aware  that,  in  withstanding  the  public  infatuation  in  re¬ 
gard  to  France,  he  was  putting  an  unparalleled  popularity 
at  hazard ;  but  he  put  it  at  hazard  without  hesitation ;  and, 
in  so  doing,  set  a  magnanimous  example  for  his  successors 
in  office  to  endeavor  to  follow. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-ONE 

Washington  called  to  Mount  Vernon — The  case  of  the  “Little 
Sarah”  comes  up  in  his  Absence — Governor  Mifflin  determined 
to  prevent  her  Departure — Rage  of -Genet — Jefferson  urges  De¬ 
tention  of  the  Privateer  until  the  President’s  Return — Evasive 
Assurance  of  Genet — Distrust  of  Hamilton  and  Knox — Wash¬ 
ington  returns  to  Philadelphia — A  Cabinet  Council — Its  De¬ 
termination  communicated  to  Genet — The  Vessel  sails  in  De¬ 
fiance  of  it — Formation  of  the  Democratic  Society — The  Recall 
of  Genet  determined  on — The  Ribald  Lampoon — Washington’s 
Outburst 

In  the  latter  part  of  July,  Washington  was  suddenly 
called  to  Mount  Vernon  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Whiting,  the 
manager  of  his  estates.  During  his  brief  absence  from  the 
seat  of  government  occurred  the  case  of  the  “Little  Sarah.” 


268 


Worlds  of  U/ast?ir}$tor>  Iruiq$ 


This  was  a  British  merchant  vessel  which  had  been  captured 
by  a  French  privateer,  and  brought  into  Philadelphia,  where 
she  had  been  armed  and  equipped  for  privateering;  manned 
with  one  hundred  and  twenty  men,  many  of  them  Ameri¬ 
cans,  and  her  name  changed  into  that  of  <cLe  Petit  Demo¬ 
crat.”  This,  of  course,  was  in  violation  of  "Washington’s 
decision,  which  had  been  communicated  to  Genet. 

General  Mifflin,  now  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  being 
informed,  on  the  6th  of  July,  that  the  vessel  was  to  sail  the 
next  day,  sent  his  secretary,  Mr.  Dallas,  at  midnight  to  Ge¬ 
net,  to  persuade  him  to  detain  her  until  the  President  should 
arrive,  intimating  that  otherwise  force  would  be  used  to  pre¬ 
vent  her  departure. 

Genet  flew  into  one  of  the  transports  of  passion  to  which 
he  was  prone ;  contrasted  the  treatment  experienced  by  him 
from  the  officers  of  government  with  the  attachment  to  his 
nation  professed  by  the  people  at  large;  declared  that  the 
President  was  not  the  sovereign  of  the  country,  and  had  no 
right,  without  consulting  Congress,  to  give  such  instructions 
as  he  had  issued  to  the  State  governors;  threatened  to 
appeal  from  his  decision  to  the  people,  and  to  repel  force 
by  force,  should  an  attempt  be  made  to  seize  the  pri¬ 
vateer. 

Apprised  of  this  menace,  Governor  Mifflin  forthwith  or¬ 
dered  out  one  hundred  and  twenty  of  the  militia  to  take 
possession  of  the  privateer,  and  communicated  the  circum¬ 
stances  of  the  case  to  the  cabinet. 

Mr.  Jefferson  now  took  the  matter  in  hand,  and,  on  the 
7th  of  July,  in  an  interview  with  Genet,  repeated  the  re¬ 
quest  that  the  privateer  be  detained  until  the  arrival  of  the 
President.  Genet,  he  writes,  instantly  took  up  the  subject 
in  a  very  high  tone,  and  went  into  an  immense  field  of  dec- 


Cife  of  U/asf?ir}<$toi} 


269 


mmation  and  complaint.  Jefferson  made  a  few  efforts  to  be 
heard,  but,  finding  them  ineffectual,  suffered  the  torrent  of 
vituperation  to  pour  on.  He  sat  in  silence,  therefore,  while 
Genet  charged  the  government  with  having  violated  the 
treaties  between  the  two  nations;  with  having  suffered  its 
flag  to  be  insulted  and  disregarded  by  the  English,  who 
stopped  its  vessels  on  the  high  seas,  and  took  out  of  them 
whatever  they  suspected  to  be  French  property.  He  de¬ 
clared  that  he  had  been  thwarted  and  opposed  in  everything 
he  had  to  do  with  the  government;  so  that  he  sometimes 
thought  of  packing  up  and  going  away,  as  he  found  he  could 
not  be  useful  to  his  nation  in  anything.  He  censured  the 
executive  for  the  measures  it  had  taken  without  consulting 
Congress,  and  declared  that,  on  the  President’s  return,  he 
would  certainly  press  him  to  convene  that  body. 

He  had  by  this  time  exhausted  his  passion  and  moderated 
his  tone,  and  Jefferson  took  occasion  to  say  a  word.  “I 
stopped  him,”  writes  he,  “at  the  subject  of  calling  Congress; 
explained  our  constitution  to  him  as  having  divided  the  func¬ 
tions  of  government  among  three  different  authorities,  the 
executive,  legislative,  and  judiciary,  each  of  which  were  su¬ 
preme  on  all  questions  belonging  to  their  department,  and 
independent  of  the  others;  that  all  the  questions  which  had 
arisen  between  him  and  us  belonged  to  the  executive  depart¬ 
ment,  and,  if  Congress  were  sitting,  could  not  be  carried  to 
them,  nor  would  they  take  notice  of  them.  ’  ’ 

Genet  asked  with  surprise  if  Congress  were  not  the  sov¬ 
ereign. 

“No,”  replied  Jefferson.  “They  are  sovereign  only  in 
making  laws;  the  executive  is  the  sovereign  in  executing 
them,  and  the  judiciary  in  construing  them,  where  they  re¬ 
late  to  that  department.” 


270 


U/orks  of  U/asl?ip^toi>  Jruip$ 


“But,  at  least,”  cried  Genet,  “Congress  are  bound  to  see 
that  the  treaties  are  observed.” 

“No,”  rejoined  Jefferson.  “There  are  very  few  cases, 
indeed,  arising  out  of  treaties  which  they  can  take  notice  of. 
The  President  is  to  see  that  treaties  are  observed.  *  ’ 

“If  he  decides  against  the  treaty,”  demanded  Genet,  “to 
whom  is  a  nation  to  appeal?” 

“The  constitution,”  replied  Jefferson,  “has  made  the 
President  the  last  appeal.” 

Genet,  perfectly  taken  aback  at  finding  his  own  igno¬ 
rance  in  the  matter,  shrugged  his  shoulders,  made  a  bow, 
and  said,  “he  would  not  compliment  Mr.  Jefferson  on  such 
a  constitution!” 

He  had  now  subsided  into  coolness  and  good  humor,  and 
the  subject  of  the  “Little  Sarah”  being  resumed,  Jefferson 
pressed  her  detention  until  the  President’s  return;  intimating 
that  her  previous  departure  would  be  considered  a  very 
serious  offense. 

Genet  made  no  promise,  but  expressed  himself  very 
happy  to  be  able  to  inform  Mr.  Jefferson  that  the  vessel 
was  not  in  a  state  of  readiness ;  she  had  to  change  her  posi¬ 
tion  that  day,  he  said,  and  fall  down  the  river,  somewhere 
about  the  lower  end  of  the  town,  for  the  convenience  of 
taking  some  things  on  board,  and  would  not  depart 
yet. 

When  Jefferson  endeavored  to  extort  an  assurance  that 
she  would  await  the  President’s  return,  he  evaded  a  direct 
committal,  intimating,  however,  by  look  and  gesture,  that 
she  would  not  be  gone  before  that  time.  “But  let  me  be¬ 
seech  you,”  said  he,  “not  to  permit  any  attempt  to  put  men 
on  board  of  her.  She  is  filled  with  high-spirited  patriots, 
and  they  will  unquestionably  resist.  And  there  is  no  occa- 


Cffe  of  U/asl?ir)$toi?  271 

gion,  for  I  tell  you  she  will  not  be  ready  to  depart  for  some 
time.” 

Jefferson  was  accordingly  impressed  with  the  belief  that 
the  privateer  would  remain  in  the  river  until  the  President 
should  decide  on  her  case,  and,  on  communicating  this  con¬ 
viction  to  the  governor,  the  latter  ordered  the  militia  to  be 
dismissed. 

Hamilton  and  Knox,  on  the  other  hand,  were  distrustful, 
and  proposed  the  immediate  erection  of  a  battery  on  Mud 
Island,  with  guns  mounted  to  fire  at  the  vessel,  and  even 
to  sink  her,  if  she  attempted  to  pass.  Jefferson,  however, 
refusing  to  concur  in  the  measure,  it  was  not  adopted.  The 
vessel,  at  that  time,  was  at  Gloucester  Point,  but  soon  fell 
down  to  Chester. 

Washington  arrived  at  Philadelphia  on  the  11th  of  July; 
when  papers  requiring  “ instant  attention”  were  put  into  his 
hands.  They  related  to  the  case  of  the  “Little  Sarah,” 
and  were  from  Jefferson,  who,  being  ill  with  fever,  had 
retired  to  his  seat  in  the  country.  Nothing  could  ex¬ 
ceed  the  displeasure  of  Washington  when  he  examined 
these  papers. 

In  a  letter  written  to  Jefferson,  on  the  spur  of  the  mo¬ 
ment,  he  puts  these  indignant  queries :  ‘ ‘  What  is  to  be  done 
in  the  case  of  the  ‘Little  Sarah,’  now  at  Chester?  Is  the 
minister  of  the  French  republic  to  set  the  acts  of  this  govern' 
ment  at  defiance  with  impunity?  And  then  threaten  the 
executive  with  an  appeal  to  the  people!  What  must  the 
world  think  of  such  conduct,  and  of  the  government  of 
the  United  States  in  submitting  to  it? 

“These  are  serious  questions.  Circumstances  press  for 
decision,  and,  as  you  have  had  time  to  consider  them  (upon 
me  they  come  unexpectedly),  I  wish  to  know  your  opinion 


272  U/orks  of  U/ast?ir>$tor)  Iruip<$ 

upon  them,  even  before  to-morrow,  for  the  vessel  may  then 
be  gone.” 

Mr.  Jefferson,  in  a  reply  of  the  same  date,  informed  the 
President  of  his  having  received  assurance,  that  day,  from 
Mr.  Genet,  that  the  vessel  would  not  be  gone  before  his  (the 
President’s)  decision. 

In  consequence  of  this  assurance  of  the  French  minister, 
no  immediate  measures  of  a  coercive  nature  were  taken  with 
regard  to  the  vessel ;  but,  in  a  cabinet  council  held  the  next 
day,  it  was  determined  to  detain  in  port  all  privateers  which 
had  been  equipped  within  the  United  States  by  any  of  the 
belligerent  powers. 

No  time  was  lost  in  communicating  this  determination 
to  Genet;  but,  in  defiance  of  it,  the  vessel  sailed  on  her 
cruise. 

It  must  have  been  a  severe  trial  of  W  ashington’s  spirit 
to  see  his  authority  thus  braved  and  insulted,  and  to  find 
that  the  people,  notwithstanding  the  indignity  thus  offered 
to  their  chief  magistrate,  sided  with  the  aggressors,  and 
exulted  in  their  open  defiance  of  his  neutral  policy. 

About  this  time  a  society  was  formed  under  the  auspices 
of  the  French  minister  and  in  imitation  of  the  Jacobin  clubs 
of  Paris.  It  was  called  the  Democratic  Society,  and  soon 
gave  rise  to  others  throughout  the  Union;  all  taking  the 
French  side  in  the  present  questions.  The  term  democrat, 
thenceforward,  began  to  designate  an  ultra-republican. 

Fresh  mortifications  awaited  Washington,  from  the  dis¬ 
tempered  state  of  public  sentiment.  The  trial  came  on  of 
Gideon  Henfield,  an  American  citizen,  prosecuted  under  the 
advice  of  the  Attorney-general,  for  having  enlisted,  at 
Charleston,  on  board  of  a  French  privateer  which  had 
brought  prizes  into  the  port  of  Philadelphia.  The  populace 


Cife  of  U/a8t?ip$toi) 


273 


took  part  with  Henfield.  He  had  enlisted  before  the  proc¬ 
lamation  of  neutrality  had  been  published,  and  even  if  he 
had  enlisted  at  a  later  date,  was  he  to  be  punished  for  en¬ 
gaging  with  their  ancient  ally,  France,  in  the  cause  of  liberty 
against  the  royal  despots  of  Europe?  His  acquittal  exposed 
W ashington  to  the  obloquy  of  having  attempted  a  measure 
which  the  laws  would  not  justify.  It  showed  him,  more¬ 
over,  the  futility  of  attempts  at  punishment  for  infractions 
of  the  rules  proclaimed  for  the  preservation  of  neutrality; 
while  the  clamorous  rejoicing  by  which  the  acquittal  of 
Henfield  had  been  celebrated  evinced  the  popular  disposition 
to  thwart  the  line  of  policy  which  he  considered  most  calcu¬ 
lated  to  promote  the  public  good.  Nothing,  however,  could 
induce  him  to  swerve  from  that  policy.  “I  have  consolation 
within,”  said  he,  “that  no  earthly  effort  can  deprive  me  of, 
and  that  is,  that  neither  ambitious  nor  interested  motives 
have  influenced  my  conduct.  The  arrows  of  malevolence, 
therefore,  however  barbed  and  well-pointed,  can  never  reach 
the  most  vulnerable  part  of  me;  though,  while  I  am  set  up 
as  a  mark ,  they  will  be  continually  aimed.”  * 

Hitherto  Washington  had  exercised  great  forbearance 
toward  the  French  minister,  notwithstanding  the  little  re¬ 
spect  shown  by  the  latter  to  the  rights  of  the  United  States; 
but  the  official  communications  of  Genet  were  becoming  too 
offensive  and  insulting  to  be  longer  tolerated.  Meetings  of 
the  heads  of  departments  and  the  Attorney-general  were  held 
at  the  President’s  on  the  1st  and  2d  of  August,  in  which 
the  whole  of  the  official  correspondence  and  conduct  of  Genet 
was  passed  in  review ;  and  it  was  agreed  that  his  recall  should 
be  desired.  Jefferson  recommended  that  the  desire  should  be 


*  Letter  to  Governor  Lee.  Sparks,  x.  359. 


274 


U/or^g  of  U/as^if7^tor>  Iruir^ 


expressed  with  great  delicacy ;  the  others  were  for  peremptory 
terms.  Knox  was  for  sending  him  off  at  once,  but  this  prop¬ 
osition  was  generally  scouted.  In  the  end  it  was  agreed  that 
a  letter  should  be  written  to  Gouvemeur  Morris,  giving  a 
statement  of  the  case,  with  accompanying  documents,  that 
he  might  lay  the  whole  before  the  executive  council  of 
France,  and  explain  the  reason  for  desiring  the  recall 
of  Mr.  Genet. 

It  was  proposed  that  a  publication  of  the  whole  corre¬ 
spondence,  and  a  statement  of  the  proceedings,  should  be 
made  by  way  of  appeal  to  the  people.  This  produced  ani¬ 
mated  debates.  Hamilton  spoke  with  great  warmth  in  favor 
of  an  appeal.  Jefferson  opposed  it.  “Genet,”  said  he,  “will 
appeal  also;  it  will  become  a  contest  between  the  President 
and  Genet.  Anonymous  writers  will  take  it  up.  There 
will  be  the  same  difference  of  opinion  in  public  as  in  our 
cabinet — there  will  be  the  same  difference  in  Congress ,  for 
it  must  be  laid  before  them.  It  would  work,  therefore,  very 
unpleasantly  at  home.  How  would  it  work  abroad?" 

“Washington,  already  weary  and  impatient  under  the  in¬ 
cessant  dissensions  of  his  cabinet,  was  stung  by  the  sugges¬ 
tion  that  he  might  be  held  up  as  in  conflict  with  Genet,  and 
subjected,  as  he  had  been,  to  the  ribaldry  of  the  press.  At 
this  unlucky  moment  Knox  blundered  forth  with  a  specimen 
of  the  scandalous  libels  already  in  circulation ;  a  pasquinade 
lately  printed,  called  the  Funeral  of  George  "Washington, 
wherein  the  President  was  represented  as  placed  upon  the 
guillotine,  a  horrible  parody  on  the  late  decapitation  of  the 
French  king.  “The  President,”  writes  Jefferson,  “now 
burst  forth  into  one  of  those  transports  of  passion  beyond 
his  control;  inveighed  against  the  personal  abuse  which  had 
been  bestowed  upon  him,  and  defied  any  man  on  earth  to 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii}$toi) 


275 


produce  a  single  act  of  his  since  he  had  been  in  the  govern¬ 
ment  that  had  not  been  done  on  the  purest  motives. 

“He  had  never  repented  but  once  the  having  slipped  the 
moment  of  resigning  his  office,  and  that  was  every  moment 
since.  In  the  agony  of  his  heart  he  declared  that  he  had 
rather  be  in  his  grave  than  in  his  present  situation;  that 
he  had  rather  be  on  his  farm  than  to  be  made  emperor  of 
the  world — and  yet,  he  said,  indignantly,  they  are  charging 
me  with  wanting  to  be  a  king ! 

“All  were  silent  during  this  outburst  of  feeling — a  pause 
ensued — it  was  difficult  to  resume  the  question.  Washing¬ 
ton,  however,  who  had  recovered  his  equanimity,  put  an 
end  to  the  difficulty.  There  was  no  necessity,  he  said,  for 
deciding  the  matter  at  present;  the  propositions  agreed  to, 
respecting  the  letter  to  Mr.  Morris,  might  be  put  into  a  train 
of  execution,  and,  perhaps,  events  would  show  whether  the 
appeal  would  be  necessary  or  not.”  * 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-TWO 

Threatened  Dissolution  of  the  Cabinet — Action  between  the  “Am¬ 
buscade”  and  “Boston” — Triumphant  return  of  the  former  to 
New  York — A  French  Fleet  arrives  same  Day— Excitement  of 
the  People — Genet  arrives  in  the  midst  of  it — His  enthusiastic 
Reception — Is  informed  by  Jefferson  of  the  Measures  for  his 
Recall — His  Rage  and  Reply — Decline  of  his  Popularity 

Washington  had  hitherto  been  annoyed  and  perplexed 
by  having  to  manage  a  divided  cabinet;  he  was  now  threat¬ 
ened  with  that  cabinet’s  dissolution.  Mr.  Hamilton  had 


*  Jefferson’s  Works,  ix.  164. 


'Z7Q 


U/orks  of  U/as^ii7<$tor)  Iruii?^ 


informed  him,  by  letter,  that  private  as  well  as  public  rea¬ 
sons  had  determined  him  to  retire  from  office  toward  the 
close  of  the  next  session;  probably  with  a  view  to  give 
Congress  an  opportunity  to  examine  into  his  conduct.  Now 
came  a  letter  from  Mr.  Jefferson,  dated  July  31st,  in  which 
he  recalled  the  circumstances  which  had  induced  him  to  post¬ 
pone  for  a  while  his  original  intention  of  retiring  from  office 
at  the  close  of  the  first  four  years  of  the  republic.  These 
circumstances,  he  observed,  had  now  ceased  to  such  a  degree 
as  to  leave  him  free  to  think  again  of  a  day  on  which  to 
withdraw;  “at  the  close,  therefore,  of  the  ensuing  month 
of  September,  I  shall  beg  leave  to  retire  to  scenes  of  greater 
tranquillity  from  those  for  which  I  am  every  day  more  and 
more  convinced  that  neither  my  talents,  tone  of  mind,  nor 
time  of  life  fit  me.” 

Washington  was  both  grieved  and  embarrassed  by  this 
notification.  Full  of  concern,  he  called  upon  Jefferson  at 
his  country  residence  near  Philadelphia;  pictured  his  deep 
distress  at  finding  himself,  in  the  present  perplexing  juncture 
of  affairs,  about  to  be  deserted  by  those  of  his  cabinet  on 
whose  counsel  he  had  counted,  and  whose  places  he  knew 
not  where  to  find  persons  competent  to  supply;  and,  in  his 
chagrin,  again  expressed  his  repentance  that  he  himself  had 
not  resigned  as  he  had  once  meditated. 

The  public  mind,  he  went  on  to  observe,  was  in  an  alarm¬ 
ing  state  of  ferment ;  political  combinations  of  various  kinds 
were  forming;  where  all  this  would  end  he  knew  not.  A 
new  Congress  was  to  assemble,  more  numerous  than  the 
last,  perhaps  of  a  different  spirit;  the  first  expressions  of 
its  sentiments  would  be  important,  and  it  would  relieve  him 
considerably  if  Jefferson  would  remain  in  office,  if  it  were 
only  until  the  end  of  the  session. 


Cife  of  U/ast?ir)<$toi7 


m 


Jefferson,  in  reply,  pleaded  an  excessive  repugnance  to 
public  life ;  and,  what  seems  to  have  influenced  him  more 
sensibly,  the  actual  uneasiness  of  his  position.  He  was 
obliged,  he  said,  to  move  in  exactly  the  circle  which  he  knew 
to  bear  him  peculiar  hatred;  “the  wealthy  aristocrats,  the 
merchants  connected  closely  with  England;  the  newly- 
created  paper  fortunes.”  Thus  surrounded,  his  words  were 
caught,  multiplied,  misconstrued,  and  even  fabricated,  and 
spread  abroad  to  his  injury. 

Mr.  Jefferson  pleaded,  moreover,  that  the  opposition  of 
views  between  Mr.  Hamilton  and  himself  was  peculiarly  un¬ 
pleasant,  and  destructive  of  the  necessary  harmony.  With 
regard  to  the  republican  party  he  was  sure  it  had  not  a  view 
which  went  to  the  frame  of  the  government;  he  believed  the 
next  Congress  would  attempt  nothing  material  but  to  render 
their  own  body  independent;  the  maneuvers  of  Mr.  Genet 
might  produce  some  little  embarrassment,  but  the  repub¬ 
licans  would  abandon  that  functionary  the  moment  they 
knew  the  nature  of  his  conduct. 

Washington  replied  that  he  believed  the  views  of  the 
republican  party  to  be  perfectly  pure:  “but  when  men  put 
a  machine  into  motion,”  said  he,  “it  is  impossible  for  them 
to  stop  it  exactly  where  they  would  choose,  or  to  say  where 
it  will  stop.  The  constitution  we  have  is  an  excellent  one, 
if  we  can  keep  it  where  it  is.” 

He  again  adverted  to  Jefferson’s  constant  suspicion  that 
there  was  a  party  disposed  to  change  the  constitution  into 
a  monarchial  form,  declaring  that  there  was  not  a  man  in 
the  United  States  who  would  set  his  face  more  decidedly 
against  such  a  change  than  himself. 

“No  rational  man  in  the  United  States  suspects  you  of 
any  other  disposition,”  cried  Jefferson;  “but  there  does  not 


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U/orl^s  of  U/a&f?iQ<$top  Irvipq 


pass  a  week  in  which  we  cannot  prove  declarations  dropping 
from  the  monarchial  party  that  our  government  is  good  for 
nothing;  is  a  milk-and-water  thing  which  cannot  support 
itself;  that  we  must  knock  it  down  and  set  up  something 
with  more  energy.” 

“If  that  is  the  case,”  rejoined  Washington,  “it  is  a  proof 
of  their  insanity,  for  the  republican  spirit  of  the  Union  is  so 
manifest  and  so  solid  that  it  is  astonishing  how  any  one  can 
expect  to  move  it.” 

We  have  only  Jefferson’s  account  of  this  and  other  inter¬ 
esting  interviews  of  a  confidential  nature  which  he  had  with 
the  President,  and  we  give  them  generally  almost  in  his  own 
words,  through  which,  partial  as  they  may  have  been,  we 
discern  Washington’s  constant  efforts  to  moderate  the  grow¬ 
ing  antipathies  between  the  eminent  men  whom  he  had 
sought  to  assist  him  in  conducting  the  government.  He 
continued  to  have  the  highest  opinion  of  Jefferson’s  abilities, 
his  knowledge  of  foreign  affairs,  his  thorough  patriotism; 
and  it  was  his  earnest  desire  to  retain  him  in  his  cabinet 
through  the  whole  of  the  ensuing  session  of  Congress ;  before 
the  close  of  which  he  trusted  the  affairs  of  the  country 
relating  to  foreign  powers,  Indian  disturbances,  and  internal 
policy,  would  have  taken  a  more  decisive,  and,  it  was  to  be 
hoped,  agreeable  form  than  they  then  had.  A  compromise 
was  eventually  made,  according  to  which  Jefferson  was  to 
be  allowed  a  temporary  absence  in  the  autumn,  and  on  his 
return  was  to  continue  in  office  until  January. 

In  the  meantime  Genet  had  proceeded  to  Hew  York, 
which  very  excitable  city  was  just  then  in  a  great  agitation. 
The  frigate  “Ambuscade,”  while  anchored  in  the  harbor, 
had  been  challenged  to  single  combat  by  the  British  frigate 
“Boston,”  Captain  Courtney,  which  was  cruising  off  the 


Cife  of  U/asf?ir)<$tor) 


279 


Hook.  The  challenge  was  accepted ;  a  severe  action  ensued ; 
Courtney  was  killed;  and  the  “Boston,”  much  damaged, 
was  obliged  to  stand  for  Halifax.  The  “Ambuscade”  re- 
turned  triumphant  to  Hew  York,  and  entered  the  port  amid 
the  enthusiastic  cheers  of  the  populace.  On  the  same  day, 
a  French  fleet  of  fifteen  sail  arrived  from  the  Chesapeake 
and  anchored  in  the  Hudson  River.  The  officers  and  crews 
were  objects  of  unbounded  favor  with  all  who  inclined  to 
the  French  cause.  Bompard,  the  commander  of  the  “Am¬ 
buscade,”  was  the  hero  of  the  day.  Tri-colored  cockades 
and  tri-colored  ribbons  were  to  be  seen  on  every  side,  and 
rude  attempts  to  chant  the  Marseilles  Hymn  and  the  Car¬ 
magnole  resounded  through  the  streets. 

In  the  midst  of  this  excitement,  the  ringing  of  bells  and 
the  firing  of  cannon  announced  that  Citizen  Genet  was  arrived 
at  Powles  Hook  Ferry,  directly  opposite  the  city.  There  was 
an  immediate  assemblage  of  the  republican  party  in  the  fields 
now  called  the  Park.  A  committeee  was  appointed  to  escort 
Genet  into  the  city.  He  entered  it  amid  the  almost  frantic 
cheerings  of  the  populace.  Addresses  were  made  to  him 
expressing  devoted  attachment  to  the  French  republic,  and 
abjuring  all  neutrality  in  regard  to  its  heroic  struggle. 
“The  cause  of  France  is  the  cause  of  America,”  cried  the 
enthusiasts;  “it  is  time  to  distinguish  its  friends  from  its 
foes.”  Genet  looked  around  him.  The  tri-colored  cockade 
figured  in  the  hats  of  the  shouting  multitude;  tri-colored 
ribbons  fluttered  from  the  dresses  of  females  in  the  windows; 

the  French  flag  was  hoisted  on  the  top  of  the  Tontine  Coffee 

* 

House  (the  City  Exchange),  surmounted  by  the  cap  of  liberty. 
Can  we  wonder  that  what  little  discretion  Genet  possessed  was 
completely  overborne  by  this  tide  of  seeming  popularity? 

In  the  midst  of  his  self-gratulation  and  complacency, 


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however,  he  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Jefferson  (Sept.  15th), 
acquainting  him  with  the  measures  taken  to  procure  his 
recall,  and  inclosing  a  copy  of  the  letter  written  for  that 
purpose  to  the  American  minister  at  Paris.  It  was  added 
that,  out  of  anxious  regard  lest  the  interests  of  France  might 
suffer,  the  Executive  would,  in  the  meantime,  receive  his 
(M.  Genet’s)  communications  in  writing,  and  admit  the 
continuance  of  his  functions  so  long  as  they  should  be  re¬ 
strained  within  the  law  as  theretofore  announced  to  him, 
and  should  be  of  the  tenor  usually  observed  toward  inde¬ 
pendent  nations,  by  the  representative  of  a  friendly  power 
residing  with  them. 

The  letter  of  the  Secretary  of  State  threw  Genet  into 
a  violent  passion,  and  produced  a  reply  (Sept.  18th),  written 
while  he  was  still  in  a  great  heat.  In  this  he  attributed  his 
disfavor  with  the  American  government  to  the  machinations 
of  “those  gentlemen  who  had  so  often  been  represented  to 
him  as  aristocrats,  partisans  of  monarchy,  partisans  of  Eng¬ 
land  and  her  constitution,  and  consequently  enemies  of  the 
principles  which  all  good  Frenchmen  had  embraced  with 
religious  enthusiasm.”  “These  persons,”  he  said,  “alarmed 
by  the  popularity  which  the  zeal  of  the  American  people  for 
the  cause  of  France  had  shed  upon  her  minister;  alarmed 
also  by  his  inflexible  and  incorruptible  attachment  to  the 
severe  maxims  of  democracy,  were  striving  to  ruin  him  in 
his  own  country,  after  having  united  all  their  efforts  to  ca¬ 
lumniate  him  in  the  minds  of  their  fellow-citizens.” 

“These  people,”  observes  he,  “instead  of  a  democratic 
embassador,  would  prefer  a  minister  of  the  ancient  regime, 
very  complaisant,  very  gentle,  very  disposed  to  pay  court 
to  people  in  office,  to  conform  blindly  to  everything  which 
flattered  their  views  and  projects;  above  all,  to  prefer  to  the 


Cife  of  U/asf?ii7<$tor) 


281 


sure  and  modest  society  of  good  farmers,  simple  citizens, 
and  honest  artisans,  that  of  distinguished  personages  who 
speculate  so  patriotically  in  the  public  funds,  in  the  lands, 
and  the  paper  of  government.” 

In  his  heat,  Genet  resented  the  part  Mr.  Jefferson  had 
taken,  notwithstanding  their  cordial  intimacy,  in  the  present 
matter,  although  this  part  had  merely  been  the  discharge 
of  an  official  duty.  “Whatever,  sir,”  writes  Genet,  “may  be 
the  result  of  the  exploit  of  which  you  have  rendered  your¬ 
self  the  generous  instrument,  after  having  made  me  believe 
that  you  were  my  friend,  after  having  initiated  me  in  the 
mysteries  which  have  influenced  my  hatred  against  all  those 
who  aspire  to  absolute  power,  there  is  an  act  of  justice  which 
the  American  people,  which  the  French  people,  which  all 
free  people  are  interested  in  demanding;  it  is,  that  a  par¬ 
ticular  inquiry  should  be  made,  in  the  approaching  Congress, 
into  the  motives  which  have  induced  the  chief  of  the  execu¬ 
tive  power  of  the  United  States  to  take  upon  himself  to  de¬ 
mand  the  recall  of  a  public  minister,  whom  the  sovereign 
people  of  the  United  States  have  received  fraternally  and 
recognized,  before  the  diplomatic  forms  had  been  fulfilled 
in  respect  to  him  at  Philadelphia.” 

The  wrongs  of  which  Genet  considered  himself  entitled 
to  complain  against  the  executive  commenced  before  his 
introduction  to  that  functionary.  It  was  the  proclamation 
of  neutrality  which  first  grieved  his  spirit.  “I  was  ex¬ 
tremely  wounded,”  writes  he,  “that  the  President  of  the 
United  States  should  haste,  before  knowing  what  I  had  to 
transmit  on  the  part  of  the  French  republic,  to  proclaim 
sentiments  over  which  decency  and  friendship  should  at 
least  have  thrown  a  veil.” 

He  was  grieved,  moreover,  that  on  his  first  audience  the 


282 


U/or^s  of  U/a8^ip^tor>  Iruii?$ 


President  had  spoken  only  of  the  friendship  of  the  United 
States  for  France,  without  uttering  a  word  or  expressing 
a  single  sentiment  in  regard  to  its  revolution,  although  all 
the  towns,  all  the  villages  from  Charleston  to  Philadelphia, 
had  made  the  air  resound  with  their  ardent  voices  for  the 
French  republic.  And  what  further  grieved  his  spirit  was 
to  observe  “that  this  first  magistrate  of  a  free  people  had 
decorated  his  saloon  with  certain  medallions  of  Capet  [mean¬ 
ing  Louis  XVI.]  and  his  family,  which  served  in  Paris  for 
rallying  signs.  ’  ’  v 

We  forbear  to  cite  further  this  angry  and  ill-judged  letter. 
Unfortunately  for  Genet’s  ephemeral  popularity,  a  rumor 
got  abroad  that  he  had  expressed  a  determination  to  appeal 
from  the  President  to  the  people.  This  at  first  was  con¬ 
tradicted,  but  was  ultimately  established  by  a  certificate  of 
Chief -justice  Jay,  and  Mr.  Rufus  King,  of  the  United  States 
Senate,  which  was  published  in  the  papers. 

The  spirit  of  audacity  thus  manifested  by  a  foreign  minis¬ 
ter  shocked  the  national  pride.  Meetings  were  held  in  every 
part  of  the  Union  to  express  the  public  feeling  in  the  matter. 
In  these  meetings  the  proclamation  of  neutrality  and  the 
system  of  measures  flowing  from  it  were  sustained,  partly 
from  a  conviction  of  their  wisdom  and  justice,  but  more  from 
an  undiminished  affection  for  the  person  and  character  of 
Washington;  for  many  who  did  not  espouse  his  views  were 
ready  to  support  him  in  the  exercise  of  his  constitutional 
functions.  The  warm  partisans  of  Genet,  however,  were 
the  more  vehement  in  his  support  from  the  temporary  ascen¬ 
dency  of  the  other  party.  They  advocated  his  right  to  appeal 
from  the  Pesident  to  the  people.  The  President,  they  argued, 
was  invested  with  no  sanctity  to  make  such  an  act  criminal. 
In  a  republican  country  the  people  were  the  real  sovereigns. 


Cife  of  U/asbip^toiy 


283 


\ 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-THREE 

Neutrality  endangered  by  Great  Britain — Her  Ill-advised  Measures 
— Detention  of  Vessels  bound  for  France — Impressment  of 
American  Seamen — Persistence  in  holding  the  Western  Posts 
— Congress  assembles  in  December — The  President’s  opening 
Speech— His  Censure  of  Genet — The  Vice-President’s  Allusion 
to  it — The  Administration  in  a  Minority  in  the  House — Procla¬ 
mation  of  Neutrality  sustained — Jefferson’s  Report— Retires 
from  the  Cabinet — His  parting  Rebuke  to  Genet — His  Char¬ 
acter  of  Washington 

While  the  neutrality  of  the  United  States,  so  jealously 
guarded  by  Washington,  was  endangered  by  the  intrigues 
of  the  French  minister,  it  was  put  to  imminent  hazard  by 
ill-advised  measures  of  the  British  cabinet. 

There  was  such  a  scarcity  in  France,  in  consequence  of 
the  failure  of  the  crops,  that  a  famine  was  apprehended. 
England,  availing  herself  of  her  naval  ascendency,  deter¬ 
mined  to  increase  the  distress  of  her  rival  by  cutting  off  all 
her  supplies  from  abroad.  In  June,  1798,  therefore,  her 
cruisers  were  instructed  to  detain  all  vessels  bound  to  France 
with  cargoes  of  corn,  flour,  or  meal,  take  them  into  port,  un¬ 
load  them,  purchase  the  cargoes,  make  a  proper  allowance 
for  the  freight,  and  then  release  the  vessels ;  or  to  allow  the 
masters  of  them,  on  a  stipulated  security,  to  dispose  of  their 
cargoes  in  a  port  in  amity  with  England.  This  measure 
gave  umbrage  to  all  parties  in  the  United  States,  and  brought 
out  an  earnest  remonstrance  from  the  government,  as  being 
a  violation  of  the  law  of  neutrals,  and  indefensible  on  any 
proper  construction  of  the  law  of  nations. 


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Another  grievance  which  helped  to  swell  the  tide  of  re¬ 
sentment  against  Great  Britain  was  the  frequent  impress¬ 
ment  of  American  seamen,  a  wrong  to  which  they  were 
particularly  exposed  from  national  similarity. 

To  these  may  be  added  the  persistence  of  Great  Britain 
in  holding  the  posts  to  the  south  of  the  lakes,  which,  accord¬ 
ing  to  treaty  stipulations,  ought  to  have  been  given  up. 
Washington  did  not  feel  himself  in  a  position  to  press  our 
rights  under  the  treaty  with  the  vigorous  hand  that  some 
would  urge;  questions  having  risen,  in  some  of  the  State 
courts,  to  obstruct  the  fulfillment  of  our  part  of  it,  which 
regarded  the  payment  of  British  debts  contracted  before 
the  war. 

The  violent  partisans  of  France  thought  nothing  of  these 
shortcomings  on  our  own  part,  and  would  have  had  the  forts 
seized  at  once;  but  Washington  considered  a  scrupulous  dis¬ 
charge  of  our  own  obligations  the  necessary  preliminary, 
should  so  violent  a  measure  be  deemed  advisable.  His  pru¬ 
dent  and  conscientious  conduct  in  this  particular,  so  in  uni¬ 
son  with  the  impartial  justice  which  governed  all  his  actions, 
was  cited  by  partisan  writers,  as  indicative  of  his  preference 
of  England  to  “our  ancient  ally.” 

The  hostilities  of  the  Indians  north  of  the  Ohio,  by  many 
attributed  to  British  wiles,  still  continued.  The  attempts  at 
an  amicable  negotiation  had  proved  as  fruitless  as  Washing¬ 
ton  had  anticipated.  The  troops  under  Wayne  had,  there¬ 
fore,  taken  the  field  to  act  offensively ;  but,  from  the  lateness 
of  the  season,  had  formed  a  winter  camp  near  the  site  of  the 
present  city  of  Cincinnati,  whence  Wayne  was  to  open  his 
campaign  in  the  ensuing  spring. 

Congress  assembled  on  the  2d  of  December  (1793),  with 
various  causes  of  exasperation  at  work;  the  intrigues  of 


Cife  of  U/asfyir)<$tor) 


285 


Genet  and  the  aggressions  of  England  uniting  to  aggravate 
to  a  degree  of  infatuation  the  partiality  for  France,  and  ren¬ 
der  imminent  the  chance  of  a  foreign  war. 

Washington,  in  his  opening  speech,  after  expressing  his 
deep  and  respectful  sense  of  the  renewed  testimony  of  public 
approbation  manifested  in  his  re-election,  proceeded  to  state 
the  measures  he  had  taken,  in  consequence  of  the  war  in  Eu¬ 
rope,  to  protect  the  rights  and  interests  of  the  United  States, 
and  maintain  peaceful  relations  with  the  belligerent  parties. 
Still  he  pressed  upon  Congress  the  necessity  of  placing  the 
country  in  a  condition  of  complete  defense.  “The  United 
States,”  said  he,  “ought  not  to  indulge  a  persuasion  that, 
contrary  to  the  order  of  human  events,  they  will  forever 
keep  at’ a  distance  those  painful  appeals  to  arms  with  which 
the  history  of  every  nation  abounds.  There  is  a  rank  due  to 
the  United  States  among  nations,  which  will  be  withheld,  if 
not  absolutely  lost,  by  the  reputation  of  weakness.  If  we 
desire  to  avoid  insult  we  must  be  able  to  repel  it;  if  we  de¬ 
sire  to  secure  peace — one  of  the  most  powerful  instruments 
of  our  prosperity — it  must  be  known  that  we  are,  at  all 
times,  ready  for  war.”  In  the  spirit  of  these  remarks,  he 
urged  measures  to  increase  the  amount  of  arms  and  ammu¬ 
nition  in  the  arsenals,  and  to  improve  the  militia  establish¬ 
ment. 

One  part  of  his  speech  conveyed  an  impressive  admoni¬ 
tion  to  the  House  of  Representatives:  “No  pecuniary  con¬ 
sideration  is  more  urgent  than  the  regular  redemption  and 
discharge  of  the  public  debt;  in  none  can  delay  be  more  in¬ 
jurious,  or  an  economy  of  time  more  valuable.”  The  neces¬ 
sity  of  augmenting  the  public  revenue  in  a  degree  commen¬ 
surate  with  the  objects  suggested  was  likewise  touched  upon. 

In  concluding  his  speech,  he  endeavored  to  impress  upon 


286 


U/or^s  of  U/asf?ir}<$tor)  Iruir)$ 


his  hearers  the  magnitude  of  their  task,  the  important  inter* 
ests  confided  to  them,  and  the  conscientiousness  that  should 
reign  over  their  deliberations.  “Without  an  unprejudiced 
coolness,  the  welfare  of  the  government  may  be  hazarded ; 
without  harmony,  as  far  as  consists  with  freedom  of  senti¬ 
ment,  its  dignity  may  be  lost.  But,  as  the  legislative  pro¬ 
ceedings  of  the  United  States  will  never,  I  trust,  be  re¬ 
proached  for  the  want  of  temper  or  of  candor,  so  shall  not 
the  public  happiness  languish  for  the  want  of  my  strenuous 
and  warmest  co-operation.  ’ 9 

In  a  message  to  both  Houses,  on  the  5th  of  December, 
concerning  foreign  relations,  Washington  spoke  feelingly 
with  regard  to  those  with  the  representative  and  executive 
bodies  of  France:  “It  is  with  extreme  concern  I  have  to  in¬ 
form  you  that  the  proceedings  of  the  person  whom  they  have 
unfortunately  appointed  their  minister  plenipotentiary  here, 
have  breathed  nothing  of  the  friendly  spirit  of  the  nation 
which  sent  him ;  their  tendency,  on  the  contrary,  has  been 
to  involve  us  in  war  abroad,  and  discord  and  anarchy  at 
home.  So  far  as  his  acts,  or  those  of  his  agents,  have  threat¬ 
ened  our  immediate  commitment  in  the  war,  or  flagrant  in¬ 
sult  to  the  authority  of  the  laws,  their  effect  has  been  coun¬ 
teracted  by  the  ordinary  cognizance  of  the  laws,  and  by  an 
exertion  of  the  powers  confided  to  me.  Where  their  danger 
was  not  imminent,  they  have  been  borne  with,  from  senti¬ 
ments  of  regard  for  his  nation ;  from  a  sense  of  their  friend¬ 
ship  toward  us;  from  a  conviction  that  they  would  not 
suffer  us  to  remain  long  exposed  to  the  action  of  a  person 
who  has  so  little  respected  our  mutual  dispositions;  and  I 
will  add  from  a  reliance  on  the  firmness  of  my  fellow-citizens 
in  their  principles  of  peace  and  order.” 

John  Adams,  speaking  of  this  passage  of  the  message. 


Cife  of  U/a8l?ii?<$tor) 


287 


says:  “The  President  has  given  Genet  a  bolt  of  thunder.” 
He  questioned,  however,  whether  Washington  would  be  sup¬ 
ported  in  it  by  the  two  Houses — “although  he  stands,  at 
present,  as  high  in  the  admiration  and  confidence  of  the 
people  as  ever  he  did,  I  expect  he  will  find  many  bitter  and 
desperate  enemies  arise  in  consequence  of  his  just  judg¬ 
ment  against  Genet.”  * 

In  fact,  the  choice  of  Speaker  showed  that  there  was  a 
majority  of  ten  against  the  administration  in  the  House  of 
Representatives ;  yet  it  was  manifest,  from  the  affectionate 
answer  on  the  6th,  of  the  two  Houses,  to  Washington’s 
speech,  and  the  satisfaction  expressed  at  his  re-election,  that 
he  was  not  included  in  the  opposition  which,  from  this  act, 
appeared  to  await  his  political  system.  The  House  did  jus¬ 
tice  to  the  purity  and  patriotism  of  the  motives  which  had 
prompted  him  again  to  obey  the  voice  of  his  country,  when 
called  by  it  to  the  Presidential  chair.  “  It  is  to  virtues  which 
have  commanded  long  and  universal  reverence,  and  services 
from  which  have  flowed  great  and  lasting  benefits,  that  the 
tribute  of  praise  may  be  paid  without  the  reproach  of  flat¬ 
tery  ;  and  it  is  from  the  same  sources  that  the  fairest  antici¬ 
pations  may  be  derived  in  favor  of  the  public  happiness.” 

Notwithstanding  the  popular  ferment  in  favor  of  France, 
both  Houses  seemed  to  have  approved  the  course  pursued  by 
W ashington  in  regard  to  that  country ;  and  as  to  his  procla¬ 
mation  of  neutrality,  while  the  House  approved  of  it  in 
guarded  terms,  the  Senate  pronounced  it  a  “measure  well- 
timed  and  wise;  manifesting  a  watchful  solicitude  for  the 
welfare  of  the  nation,  and  calculated  to  promote  it.” 

Early  in  the  session,  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  compliance  with  a 


*  Letter  to  Mrs.  Adams.  Life,  vol.  i.,  p.  460. 


288 


U/orks  of  U/as^iQ^tor)  Iruffi<$ 


requisition  which  the  House  of  Representatives  had  made, 
Feb.  23,  1791,  furnished  an  able  and  comprehensive  report 
of  the  state  of  trade  of  the  United  States  with  different  coun¬ 
tries;  the  nature  and  extent  of  exports  and  imports,  and  the 
amount  of  tonnage  of  the  American  shipping:  specifying, 
also,  the  various  restrictions  and  prohibitions  by  which  our 
commerce  was  embarrassed,  and,  in  some  instances,  almost 
ruined.  “Two  methods,”  he  said,  “presented  themselves, 
by  which  these  impediments  might  be  removed,  modified, 
or  counteracted — friendly  arrangement  or  countervailing 
legislation.  Friendly  arrangements  were  preferable  with 
all  who  would  come  into  them,  and  we  should  carry  into 
such  arrangements  all  the  liberality  and  spirit  of  accommo¬ 
dation  which  the  nature  of  the  case  would  admit.  But,  *  *  he 
adds,  “should  any  nation  continue  its  system  of  prohibitive 
duties  and  regulations,  it  behooves  us  to  protect  our  citizens, 
their  commerce  and  navigation,  by  counter  prohibitions,  du¬ 
ties,  and  regulations.”  To  effect  this,  he  suggested  a  series 
of  legislative  measures  of  a  retaliatory  kind.* 

"With  this  able  and  elaborate  report,  Jefferson  closed  his 
labors  as  Secretary  of  State.  His  last  act  was  a  kind  of 
parting  gun  to  Mr.  Genet.  This  restless  functionary  had, 
on  the  20th  of  December,  sent  to  him  translations  of  the  in¬ 
structions  given  him  by  the  executive  council  of  France;  de-, 
siring  that  the  President  would  lay  them  officially  before 
both  Houses  of  Congress,  and  proposing  to  transmit,  succes¬ 
sively,  other  papers  to  be  laid  before  them  in  like  manner. 

Jefferson,  on  the  31st  of  December,  informed  Genet  that 
he  had  laid  his  letter  and  its  accompaniments  before  the 
President.  “I  have  it  in  charge  to  observe,”  adds  he,  “that 


*  See  Jefferson’s  Works,  vol.  vii. 


Cife  of  UfastyqqtOT) 


289 


your  functions  as  the  missionary  of  a  foreign  nation  here  are 
confined  to  the  transactions  of  the  affairs  of  your  nation  with 
the  Executive  of  the  United  States;  that  the  communications 
which  are  to  pass  between  the  executive  and  legislative 
branches  cannot  be  a  subject  for  your  interference,  and  that 
the  President  must  be  left  to  judge  for  himself  what  matters 
his  duty  or  the  public  good  may  require  him  to  propose  to 
the  deliberations  of  Congress.  I  have,  therefore,  the  honor 
of  returning  you  the  copies  sent  for  distribution,  and  of  be¬ 
ing,  with  great  respect,  sir,  your  most  obedient  and  most 
humble  servant.” 

Such  was  Jefferson’s  dignified  rebuke  of  the  presumptu¬ 
ous  meddling  of  Genet,  and  indeed  his  whole  course  of  offi¬ 
cial  proceedings  with  that  minister,  notwithstanding  his  per¬ 
sonal  intimacy  with  him  and  his  strong  French  partialities, 
is  worthy  of  the  highest  approbation.  Genet,  in  fact,  who 
had  calculated  on  Jefferson’s  friendship,  charged  him  openly 
with  having  a  language  official  and  a  language  confidential ; 
but  it  certainty  was  creditable  to  him,  as  a  public  functionary 
in  a  place  of  high  trust,  that,  in  his  official  transactions,  he 
could  rise  superior  to  individual  prejudices  and  partialities, 
and  consult  only  the  dignity  and  interests  of  his  country. 

Washington  had  been  especially  sensible  of  the  talents 
and  integrity  displayed  by  Jefferson  during  the  closing  year 
of  his  secretaryship,  and  particularly  throughout  this  French 
perplexity,  and  had  recently  made  a  last  attempt,  but  an  un¬ 
successful  one,  to  persuade  him  to  remain  in  the  cabinet. 

On  the  same  day  with  his  letter  to  Genet,  Jefferson  ad 
dressed  one  to  Washington,  reminding  him  of  his  having  post¬ 
poned  his  retirement  from  office  until  the  end  of  the  annual 
year.  “That  term  being  now  arrived,”  writes  he,  “and  my 

propensities  to  retirement  becoming  daily  more  and  more  ir- 

Vol.  XV.— *  *  *  13 


290 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?i[)<$toi)  Iruir?<$ 


resistible,  I  now  take  the  liberty  of  resigning  the  office  into 
your  hands.  Be  pleased  to  accept  it  with  my  sincere  thanks 
for  all  the  indulgences  which  you  have  been  so  good  as  to 
exercise  toward  me  in  the  discharge  of  its  duties.  Conscious 
that  my  need  of  them  has  been  great,  I  have  still  ever  found 
them  greater,  without  any  other  claim  on  my  part  than  a 
firm  pursuit  of  what  has  appeared  to  me  to  be  right,  and 
a  thorough  disdain  of  all  means  which  were  not  as  open  and 
honorable  as  their  object  was  pure.  I  carry  into  my  retire¬ 
ment  a  lively  sense  of  your  goodness,  and  shall  continue 
gratefully  to  remember  it.” 

The  following  was  Washington’s  reply:  “Since  it  has 
been  impossible  to  prevent  you  to  forego  any  longer  the  in¬ 
dulgence  of  your  desire  for  private  life,  the  event,  however 
anxious  I  am  to  avert  it,  must  be  submitted  to. 

“But  I  cannot  suffer  you  to  leave  your  station  without 
assuring  you  that  the  opinion  which  I  had  formed  of  your 
integrity  and  talents,  and  which  dictated  your  original  nomi¬ 
nation,  has  been  confirmed  by  the  fullest  experience,  and 
that  both  have  been  eminently  displayed  in  the  discharge 
of  your  duty.” 

The  place  thus  made  vacant  in  the  cabinet  was  filled  by 
Mr.  Edmund  Randolph,  whose  office  of  Attorney-general  was 
conferred  on  Mr.  William  Bradford,  of  Pennsylvania. 

No  one  seemed  to  throw  off  the  toils  of  office  with  more 
delight  than  Jefferson;  or  to  betake  himself  with  more  devo¬ 
tion  to  the  simple  occupations  of  rural  life.  It  was  his  boast, 
in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  written  some  time  after  his  return  to 
Monticello,  that  he  had  seen  no  newspaper  since  he  had  left 
Philadelphia,  and  he  believed  he  should  never  take  another 
newspaper  of  any  sort.  “I  think  it  is  Montaigne,”  writes 
he,  “who  has  said  that  ignorance  is  the  softest  pillow  on 


Cife  of  U/asf>ii}<2toi) 


201 


which  a  man  can  rest  his  head.  I  am  snre  it  is  true  as  to 
everything  political,  and  shall  endeavor  to  estrange  myself 
to  everything  of  that  character.”  Yet  the  very  next  sen¬ 
tence  shows  the  lurking  of  the  old  party  feud.  “I  indulge 
myself  in  one  political  topic  only — that  is,  in  declaring  to  my 
countrymen  the  shameless  corruption  of  a  portion  of  the  rep¬ 
resentatives  of  the  first  and  second  Congresses,  and  their 
implicit  devotion  to  the  treasury .”  * 

We  subjoin  his  comprehensive  character  of  Washington, 
the  result  of  long  observation  and  cabinet  experience,  and 
written  in  after  years,  when  there  was  no  temptation  to 
insincere  eulogy: 

“His  integrity  was  most  pure;  his  justice  the  most  in¬ 
flexible  I  have  ever  known;  no  motives  of  interest  or  con¬ 
sanguinity,  of  friendship  or  hatred,  being  able  to  bias  his 
decision.  He  was,  indeed,  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  a 
wise,  a  good,  and  a  great  man.” 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FOUR 

Debate  on  Jefferson’s  Report  on  Commercial  Intercourse — A  Naval 
Force  proposed  for  the  Protection  of  Commerce  against  Pirat¬ 
ical  Cruisers — Further  Instances  of  the  Audacity  of  Genet — His 
Recall — Arrival  of  his  Successor — Irritation  excited  by  British 
Captures  of  American  Vessels — Preparations  for  Defense — Em¬ 
bargo — Intense  Excitement  at  “British  Spoliations’’ — Partisans 
of  France  in  the  ascendant — A  Chance  for  Accommodating 
Difficulties — Jefferson’s  Hopes  of  Reconciliation — The  War  Cry 
uppermost — Washington  determines  to  send  a  Special  Envoy  to 
the  British  Government — Jefferson’s  Letter  to  Tench  Coxe 

Public  affairs  were  becoming  more  and  more  compli¬ 
cated,  and  events  in  Europe  were  full  of  gloomy  portent. 

*  Letter  to  E.  Randolph.  Works,  iv.  103. 


292 


U/or^s  of  U/asfyii)<$tor)  Iruir?<$ 


“The  news  of  this  evening,”  writes  John  Adams  to  his  wife, 
on  the  9th  of  January,  “is  that  the  queen  of  France  is  no 
more.  When  will  savages  be  satisfied  with  blood?  No  pros¬ 
pect  of  peace  in  Europe,  therefore  none  of  internal  harmony 
in  America.  We  cannot  well  be  in  a  more  disagreeable  situ¬ 
ation  than  we  are  with  all  Europe,  with  all  Indians,  and  with 
all  Barbary  rovers.  Nearly  one  half  of  the  continent  is  in 
constant  opposition  to  the  other,  and  the  President’s  situa¬ 
tion,  which  is  highly  responsible,  is  very  distressing.” 

Adams  speaks  of  having  had  two  hours’  conversation 
with  Washington  alone  in  his  cabinet,  but  intimates  that 
he  could  not  reveal  the  purport  of  it,  even  by  a  hint;  it  had 
satisfied  him,  however,  of  Washington’s  earnest  desire  to  do 
right ;  his  close  application  to  discover  it,  and  his  deliberate 
and  comprehensive  view  of  our  affairs  with  all  the  world. 
“The  anti-federalists  and  the  Frenchified  zealots,”  adds 
Adams,  “have  nothing  now  to  do  that  I  can  conceive  of 
but  to  ruin  his  character,  destroy  his  peace,  and  injure  his 
health.  He  supports  all  their  attacks  with  firmness,  and 
his  health  appears  to  be  very  good.”  * 

The  report  of  Mr.  Jefferson  on  commercial  intercourse 
was  soon  taken  up  in  the  House,  in  a  committee  of  the 
whole.  A  series  of  resolutions  based  on  it,  and  relating  to 
the  privileges  and  restrictions  of  the  commerce  of  the  United 
States,  were  introduced  by  Mr.  Madison,  and  became  the 
subject  of  a  warm  and  acrimonious  debate.  The  report  up¬ 
held  the  policy  of  turning  the  course  of  trade  from  England 
to  France,  by  discriminations  in  favor  of  the  latter ;  and  the 
resolutions  were  to  the  same  purport.  The  idea  was  to  op¬ 
pose  commercial  resistance  to  commercial  injury;  to  enforce 


*  Life  of  John  Adams,  vol.  i.,  p.  461. 


Cife  of  U/asf?ir}<$tor} 


293 


a  perfect  commercial  equality  by  retaliating  impositions,  as¬ 
suming  that  the  commercial  system  of  Great  Britain  was 
hostile  to  the  United  States — a  position  strongly  denied  by 
some  of  the  debaters. 

Though  the  subject  was,  or  might  seem  to  be,  of  a  purely 
commercial  nature,  it  was  inevitably  mixed  up  with  political 
considerations,  according  as  a  favorable  inclination  to  Eng¬ 
land  or  France  was  apprehended.  The  debate  waxed  warm 
as-  it  proceeded,  with  a  strong  infusion  of  bitterness.  Fisher 
Ames  stigmatized  the  resolutions  as  having  French  stamped 
upon  the  very  face  of  them.  Whereupon  Colonel  Parker,  of 
Virginia,  wished  that  there  were  a  stamp  on  the  forehead  of 
every  one  to  designate  whether  he  were  for  France  or  Eng¬ 
land.  For  himself,  he  would  not  be  silent  and  hear  that  na¬ 
tion  abused  to  whom  America  was  indebted  for  her  rank  as 
a  nation.  There  was  a  burst  of  applause  in  the  gallery;  but 
the  indecorum  was  rebuked  by  the  galleries  being  cleared. 

The  debate,  which  had  commenced  on  the  13th  of  Janu¬ 
ary  (1794),  was  protracted  to  the  3d  of  February,  when  the 
question  being  taken  on  the  first  resolution,  it  was  carried  by 
a  majority  of  only  five,  so  nearly  were  parties  divided.  The 
further  consideration  of  the  remaining  resolutions  was  post¬ 
poned  to  March,  when  it  was  resumed,  but,  in  consequence 
of  the  new  complexion  of  affairs,  was  suspended  without  a 
decision. 

The  next  legislative  movement  was  also  productive  of 
a  warm  debate,  though  connected  with  a  subject  which  ap¬ 
pealed  to  the  sympathies  of  the  whole  nation.  Algerine  cor¬ 
sairs  had  captured  eleven  American  merchant  vessels,  and 
upward  of  one  hundred  prisoners,  and  the  regency  mani¬ 
fested  a  disposition  for  further  outrages.  A  bill  was  intro¬ 
duced  into  Congress  proposing  a  force  of  six  frigates  to  pro- 


294 


U/or^s  of  U/asl?ii)$tor)  Irvip$ 


tect  the  commerce  of  the  United  States  against  the  cruisers 
of  this  piratical  power.  The  bill  met  with  strenuous  opposi¬ 
tion.  The  force  would  require  time  to  prepare  it;  and  would 
then  be  insufficient.  It  might  be  laying  the  foundation  of  a 
large  permanent  navy  and  a  great  public  debt.  It  would  be 
cheaper  to  purchase  the  friendship  of  Algiers  with  money, 
as  was  done  by  other  nations  of  superior  maritime  force,  or 
to  purchase  the  protection  of  those  nations.  It  seems  hardly 
credible  at  the  present  day  that  such  policy  could  have  been 
urged  before  an  American  Congress,  without  provoking  a 
burst  of  scorn  and  indignation ;  yet  it  was  heard  without  any 
emotion  of  the  kind;  and,  though  the  bill  was  eventually 
passed  by  both  Houses,  it  was  but  by  a  small  majority.  It 
received  the  hearty  assent  of  the  President. 

In  the  course  of  this  session,  fresh  instances  had  come  be¬ 
fore  the  government  of  the  mischievous  activity  and  audac¬ 
ity  of  Genet ;  showing  that,  not  content  with  compromising 
the  neutrality  of  the  United  States  at  sea,  he  was  attempting 
to  endanger  it  by  land.  From  documents  received,  it  ap¬ 
peared  that  in  November  he  had  sent  emissaries  to  Ken¬ 
tucky,  to  enroll  American  citizens  in  an  expedition  against 
New  Orleans  and  the  Spanish  possessions;  furnishing  them 
with  blank  commissions  for  the  purpose.*  It  was  an  enter¬ 
prise  in  which  the  adventurous  people  of  that  State  were 
ready  enough  to  embark,  through  enthusiasm  for  the  French 
nation  and  impatience  at  the  delay  of  Spain  to  open  the  navi¬ 
gation  of  the  Mississippi.  Another  expedition  was  to  pro¬ 
ceed  against  the  Floridas;  men  for  the  purpose  to  be  enlisted 
at  the  South,  to  rendezvous  in  Georgia,  and  to  be  aided  by  a 
body  of  Indians  and  by  a  French  fleet,  should  one  arrive  on 
the  coast. 


*  American  State  Papers,  ii.  36. 


Clfe  of  U/asl?i9^tOQ 


29o 


A  proclamation  from  Governor  Moultrie  checked  all  such 
enlistments  in  South  Carolina,  but  brought  forth  a  letter  from 
Genet  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  denying  that  he  had  endeavored  to 
raise  an  armed  force  in  that  State  for  the  service  of  the  re¬ 
public:  “At  the  same  time,”  adds  he,  “I  am  too  frank  to 
conceal  from  you  that,  authorized  by  the  French  nation  to 
deliver  brevets  to  such  of  your  fellow-citizens  who  feel  ani¬ 
mated  by  a  desire  to  serve  the  fairest  of  causes,  I  have  ac¬ 
corded  them  to  several  brave  republicans  of  South  Carolina, 
whose  intention  appeared  to  me  to  be,  in  expatriating  them¬ 
selves,  to  go  among  the  tribes  of  independent  Indians,  an¬ 
cient  friends  and  allies  of  France,  to  inflict,  if  they  could,  in 
concert  with  them,  the  harm  to  Spaniards  and  Englishmen 
which  the  governments  of  those  two  nations  had  the  base¬ 
ness  to  do  for  a  long  time  to  your  fellow  citizens,  under  the 
name  of  these  savages,  the  same  as  they  have  done  recently 
under  that  of  the  Algerines.” 

Documents  relating  to  these  transactions  were  communi¬ 
cated  to  Congress  by  Washington  early  in  January.  But, 
though  the  expedition  set  on  foot  in  South  Carolina  had  been 
checked,  it  was  subsequently  reported  that  the  one  in  Ken¬ 
tucky  against  Louisiana  was  still  in  progress  and  about  to 
descend  the  Ohio. 

These  schemes  showed  such  determined  purpose,  on  the 
part  of  Genet,  to  undermine  the  peace  of  the  United  States, 
that  Washington,  without  waiting  a  reply  to  the  demand  for 
his  recall,  resolved  to  keep  no  further  terms  with  that  head¬ 
long  diplomat.  The  dignity,  possibly  the  safety  of  the  United 
States,  depended  upon  immediate  measures. 

In  a  cabinet  council  it  was  determined  to  supersede  Ge¬ 
net’s  diplomatic  functions,  deprive  him  of  the  consequent 
privileges,  and  arrest  his  person;  a  message  to  Congress, 


296 


U/orl^s  of  U/as^ip^tor)  Iruir)<$ 


avowing  such  determination,  was  prepared,  but  at  this  crit¬ 
ical  juncture  came  dispatches  from  Gouverneur  Morris,  an¬ 
nouncing  Genet’s  recall. 

The  French  minister  of  foreign  affairs  had,  in  fact,  repro¬ 
bated  the  conduct  of  Genet  as  unauthorized  by  his  instruc¬ 
tions  and  deserving  of  punishment,  and  Mr.  Fauchet,  secre¬ 
tary  of  the  executive  council,  was  appointed  to  succeed  him. 
Mr.  Fauchet  arrived  in  the  United  States  in  February. 

About  this  time  vigilance  was  required  to  guard  against 
wrongs  from  an  opposite  quarter.  We  have  noticed  the  or¬ 
ders  issued  by  Great  Britain  to  her  cruisers  in  June,  1793, 
and  the  resentment  thereby  excited  in  the  United  States. 
On  the  6th  of  the  following  month  of  November,  she  had 
given  them  additional  instructions  to  detain  all  vessels  laden 
with  the  produce  of  any  colony  belonging  to  France,  or 
carrying  supplies  to  any  such  colony,  and  to  bring  them, 
with  their  cargoes,  to  British  ports,  for  adjudication  in  the 
British  courts  of  admiralty. 

Captures  of  American  vessels  were  taking  place  in  con¬ 
sequence  of  these  orders,  and  heightening  public  irritation. 
They  were  considered  indicative  of  determined  hostility  on 
the  part  of  Great  Britain,  and  they  produced  measures  in 
Congress  preparatory  to  an  apprehended  state  of  war.  An 
embargo  was  laid,  prohibiting  all  trade  from  the  United 
States  to  any  foreign  place  for  the  space  of  thirty  days,  and 
vigorous  preparations  for  defense  were  adopted  with  but  little 
opposition. 

On  the  27th  of  March,  resolutions  were  moved  that  all 
debts  due  to  British  subjects  be  sequestered  and  paid  into  the 
treasury,  as  a  fund  to  indemnify  citizens  of  the  United  States 
for  depredations  sustained  from  British  cruisers,  and  that 
all  intercourse  with  Great  Britain  be  interdicted  until  she 


Cife  of  U/asfyip^toQ 


29? 


had  made  compensation  for  these  injuries,  and  until  she 
should  make  surrender  of  the  Western  posts. 

The  popular  excitement  was  intense.  Meetings  were 
held  on  the  subject  of  British  spoliations.  “Peace  or  war” 
was  the  absorbing  question.  The  partisans  of  France  were 
now  in  the  ascendent.  It  was  scouted  as  pusillanimous  any 
longer  to  hold  terms  with  England.  “No  doubt,”  said  they, 
“she  despises  the  proclamation  of  neutrality,  as  an  evidence 
of  timidity;  every  motive  of  self-respect  calls  on  the  people 
of  the  United  States  to  show  a  proper  spirit.” 

It  was  suggested  that  those  who  were  in  favor  of  resisting 
British  aggressions  should  mount  the  tri-colored  cockade; 
and  forthwith  it  was  mounted  by  many ;  while  a  democratic 
society  was  formed  to  correspond  with  the  one  at  Philadel¬ 
phia,  and  aid  in  giving  effect  to  these  popular  sentiments. 

While  the  public  mind  was  in  this  inflammable  state, 
Washington  received  advices  from  Mr.  Pinckney,  the  Amer¬ 
ican  minister  in  London,  informing  him  that  the  British 
ministry  had  issued  instructions  to  the  commanders  of  armed 
vessels,  revoking  those  of  the  6th  of  November,  1793.  Lord 
Grenville,  also,  in  conversation  with  Mr.  Pinckney,  had 
explained  the  real  motives  for  that  order,  showing  that, 
however  oppressive  in  its  execution,  it  had  not  been  intended 
for  the  special  vexation  of  American  commerce. 

Washington  laid  Pinckney’s  letter  before  Congress  on  the 
4th  of  April.  It  had  its  effects  on  both  parties ;  federalists 
saw  in  it  a  chance  of  accommodating  difficulties,  and,  there¬ 
fore,  opposed  all  measures  calculated  to  irritate;  the  other 
party  did  not  press  their  belligerent  propositions  to  any 
immediate  decision,  but  showed  no  solicitude  to  avoid  a 
rupture. 

Jefferson,  though  reputed  to  be  the  head  of  the  French 


ll/or^s  of  U/asl?ir?<$t:or)  Iruii?^ 


293 

party,  avowed  in  a  letter  to  Madison  his  hope  that  war  would 
not  result,  but  that  justice  would  be  obtained  in  a  peaceable 
way;  *  and  he  repeats  the  hope  in  a  subsequent  letter.  “My 
countrymen,”  writes  he,  “are  groaning  under  the  insuits  of 
Great  Britain.  I  hope  some  means  will  turn  up  of  recon¬ 
ciling  our  faith  and  honor  with  peace.  I  confess  to  you, 
I  have  seen  enough  of  one  war  never  to  wish  to  see 
another.”  f 

“  ’Tis  as  great  an  error,”  writes  Hamilton,  at  the  same 
time,  “for  a  nation  to  overrate  as  to  underrate  itself.  Pre¬ 
sumption  is  as  great  a  fault  as  timidity.  ’Tis  our  error  to 
overrate  ourselves  and  underrate  Great  Britain;  we  forget 
how  little  we  can  annoy,  how  much  we  may  be  annoyed.  ’  ’  X 

The  war  cry,  however,  is  too  obvious  a  means  of  popular 
excitement  to  be  readily  given  up.  Busy  partisans  saw  that 
the  feeling  of  the  populace  was  belligerent,  and  every  means 
were  taken  by  the  press  and  the  democratic  societies  to  exas¬ 
perate  this  feeling;  according  to  them  the  crisis  called,  not 
for  moderation,  but  for  decision,  for  energy.  Still  to  adhere 
to  a  neutral  position  would  argue  tameness — cowardice! 
Washington,  however,  was  too  morally  brave  to  be  clamored 
out  of  his  wise  moderation  by  such  taunts.  He  resolved 
to  prevent  a  war,  if  possible,  by  an  appeal  to  British  justice, 
to  be  made  through  a  special  envoy,  who  should  represent 
to  the  British  government  the  injuries  we  had  sustained 
from  it  in  various  ways,  and  should  urge  indemnification. 

The  measure  was  decried  by  the  party  favorable  to 
France,  as  an  undue  advance  to  the  British  government; 
but  they  were  still  more  hostile  to  it  when  it  was  rumored 

*  Jefferson’s  Works,  vol.  iv.,  p.  102. 

t  lb.,  vol.  iv.,  p.  104.  Letter  to  John  Adams. 

1  Hamilton’s  Works,  iv.  528. 


Cife  of  U/asl?iQ<$tor} 


299 


that  Hamilton  was  to  be  chosen  for  the  mission.  A  member 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  addressed  a  strong  letter 
to  the  President,  deprecating  the  mission,  but  especially  the 
reputed  choice  of  the  envoy.  James  Monroe,  also,  at  that 
time  a  member  of  the  Senate,  remonstrated  against  the 
nomination  of  Hamilton,  as  injurious  to  the  public  interest, 
and  to  the  interest  of  Washington  himself,  and  offered  to 
explain  his  reasons  to  the  latter  in  a  private  interview. 

Washington  declined  the  interview,  but  requested  Mr. 
Monroe,  if  possessed  of  any  facts  which  would  disqualify 
Mr.  Hamilton  for  the  mission,  to  communicate  them  to  him 
in  writing. 

“Colonel  Hamilton  and  others  have  been  mentioned,” 
adds  he,  “but  no  one  is  yet  absolutely  decided  upon  in  my 
mind.  But  as  much  will  depend,  among  other  things,  upon 
the  abilities  of  the  person  sent,  and  his  knowledge  of  the 
affairs  of  this  country,  and  as  I  alone  am  responsible  for  a 
proper  nomination,  it  certainly  behooves  me  to  name  such 
a  one  as,  in  my  judgment,  combines  the  requisites  for  a  mis¬ 
sion  so  peculiarly  interesting  to  the  peace  and  happiness  of 
this  country.” 

Hamilton,  however,  aware  of  the  “collateral  obstacles” 
which  existed  with  respect  to  himself,  had  resolved  to  advise 
Washington  to  drop  him  from  the  consideration,  and  to  fix 
upon  another  character;  and  recommended  John  Jay,  the 
Chief- justice  of  the  United  States,  as  the  man  whom  it 
would  be  advisable  to  send.  “I  think,”  writes  he,  “the 
business  would  have  the  best  chance  possible  in  his  hands, 

t 

and  I  flatter  myself  that  his  mission  would  issue  in  a  man¬ 
ner  that  would  produce  the  most  important  good  to  the 
nation.”  * 


*  Hamilton’s  Works,  vol.  iv.,  p.  531. 


300 


U/orl^s  of  U/asOio^tor)  Iruir)^ 


Mr.  Jay  was  the  person  ultimately  chosen.  Washington, 
in  his  message,  thus  nominating  an  additional  envoy  to  Great 
Britain,  expressed  undiminished  confidence  in  the  minister 
actually  in  London.  “But  a  mission  like  this,”  observes 
he,  “while  it  corresponds  with  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion, 
will  announce  to  the  world  a  solicitude  for  a  friendly  adjust¬ 
ment  of  our  complaints  and  a  reluctance  to  hostility.  Going 
immediately  from  the  United  States,  such  an  envoy  will 
carry  with  him  a  full  knowledge  of  the  existing  temper  and 
sensibility  of  our  country,  and  will  thus  be  taught  to  vindi¬ 
cate  our  rights  with  firmness,  and  to  cultivate  peace  with 
sincerity.” 

The  nomination  was  approved  by  a  majority  of  ten 
Senators. 

By  this  sudden  and  decisive  measure  Washington  sought 
to  stay  the  precipitate  impulses  of  public  passion;  to  give 
time  to  put  the  country  into  a  complete  state  of  defense,  and 
to  provide  such  other  measures  as  might  be  necessary  if 
negotiation,  in  a  reasonable  time,  should  prove  unsuccessful.* 
Notwithstanding  the  nomination  of  the  envoy,  the  resolu¬ 
tion  to  cut  off  all  intercourse  with  Great  Britain  passed  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  was  only  lost  in  the  Senate 
by  the  casting  vote  of  the  Vice-President,  which  was  given, 
according  to  general  belief,  “not  from  a  disinclination  to  the 
ulterior  expedience  of  the  measure,  but  from  a  desire,”  pre¬ 
viously,  “to  try  the  effect  of  negotiation,”  f 

While  Washington  was  thus  endeavoring  to  steer  the 
vessel  of  State  amid  the  surges  and  blasts  which  were  threat¬ 
ening  on  every  side,  Jefferson,  who  had  hauled  out  of  the 


*  Letter  to  Edmund  Randolph.  Writings,  x.  403. 
f  Washington  to  Tobias  Lear.  Idem.,  401. 


Cife  of  U/asfyip^tor} 


soi 


storm,  writes  serenely  from  his  retirement  at  Monticello, 
to  his  friend  Tench  Coxe,  at  Paris: 

“Your  letters  give  a  comfortable  view  of  French  affairs, 
and  later  events  seem  to  confirm  it.  Over  the  foreign  powers 
1  am  convinced  they  will  triumph  completely,  and  I  cannot 
but  hope  that  that  triumph,  and  the  consequent  disgrace  of 
the  invading  tyrants,  is  destined,  in  order  of  events,  to  kindle 
the  wrath  of  Europe  against  those  who  have  dared  to  embroil 
them  in  such  wickedness,  and  to  bring,  at  length,  kings, 
nobles  and  priests  to  the  scaffolds  which  they  have  been  so 
long  deluging  with  human  blood.  I  am  still  warm  when¬ 
ever  I  think  of  these  scoundrels,  though  I  do  it  as  seldom 
as  I  can,  preferring  infinitely  to  contemplate  the  tranquil 
growth  of  my  lucerne  and  potatoes.  I  have  so  completely 
withdrawn  myself  from  these  spectacles  of  usurpation  and 
misrule,  that  I  do  not  take  a  single  newspaper,  nor  read  one 
a  month;  and  I  feel  myself  infinitely  the  happier  for  it.”* 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FIVE 

James  Monroe  appointed  Minister  to  France  in  place  of  Gouverneur 
Morris  recalled — His  Reception — Pennsylvania  Insurrection — 
Proclamation  of  Washington — Perseverance  of  the  Insurgents 
— Second  Proclamation — The  President  proceeds  against  them 
— General  Morgan — Lawrence  Lewis — Washington  arranges  a 
Plan  of  Military  Operations — Returns  to  Philadelphia,  leav¬ 
ing  Lee  in  Command — Submission  of  the  Insurgents — The  Presi¬ 
dent’s  Letter  on  the  Subject  to  Jay,  Minister  at  London 

The  French  government  having  so  promptly  complied 
with  the  wishes  of  the  American  government  in  recalling 


*  Works,  iv.  104. 


803  U/or^s  of  U/as^ip^top  Iruip$ 

Citizen  Genet,  requested,  as  an  act  of  reciprocity,  the  recall 
of  Gouverneur  Morris,  whose  political  sympathies  were  con¬ 
sidered  highly  aristocratical.  The  request  was  granted 
accordingly,  but  Washington,  in  a  letter  to  Morris,  notify¬ 
ing  him  of  his  being  superseded,  assured  him  of  his  own 
undiminished  confidence  and  friendship. 

James  Monroe,  who  was  appointed  in  his  place,  arrived 
at  Paris  in  a  moment  of  great  reaction.  Robespierre  had 
terminated  his  bloody  career  on  the  scaffold,  and  the  reign 
of  terror  was  at  an  end.  The  new  minister  from  the  United 
States  was  received  in  public  by  the  Convention.  The  senti¬ 
ments  expressed  by  Monroe,  on  delivering  his  credentials, 
were  so  completely  in  unison  with  the  feelings  of  the  moment 
that  the  President  of  the  Convention  embraced  him  with 
emotion,  and  it  was  decreed  that  the  American  and  French 
flags  should  be  entwined  and  hung  up  in  the  hall  of  the 
Convention,  in  sign  of  the  union  and  friendship  of  the  two 
republics. 

Chiming  in  with  the  popular  impulse,  Monroe  presented 
the  American  flag  to  the  Convention,  on  the  part  of  his 
country.  It  was  received  with  enthusiasm,  and  a  decree 
was  passed  that  the  national  flag  of  France  should  be  trans¬ 
mitted,  in  return,  to  the  government  of  the  United  States. 

Washington,  in  the  meantime,  was  becoming  painfully 
aware  that  censorious  eyes  at  home  were  keeping  a  watch 
upon  his  administration,  and  censorious  tongues  and  pens 
were  ready  to  cavil  at  every  measure.  “The  affairs  of  this 
country  cannot  go  wrong,’ 9  writes  he  ironically  to  Gouver¬ 
neur  Morris;  “there  are  so  many  ivatchful  guardians  of 
them ,  and  such  infallible  guides,  that  no  one  is  at  a  loss  for 
a  director  at  every  turn.” 

This  is  almost  the  only  instance  of  irony  to  be  found  in 


Cife  of  U/a&l?iQ<$toi} 


303 


bis  usually  plain,  direct  correspondence,  and  to  us  is  mourn¬ 
fully  suggestive  of  that  soreness  and  weariness  of  heart  with 
which  he  saw  his  conscientious  policy  misunderstood  or  mis¬ 
represented,  and  himself  becoming  an  object  of  party  hostility. 

Within  three  weeks  after  the  date  of  this  letter,  an  insur¬ 
rection  broke  out  in  the  western  part  of  Pennsylvania  on 
account  of  the  excise  law.  We  have  already  mentioned  the 
riotous  opposition  this  law  had  experienced.  Bills  of  indict¬ 
ment  had  been  found  against  some  of  the  rioters.  The 
marshal,  when  on  the  way  to  serve  the  processes  issued  by 
the  court,  was  fired  upon  by  armed  men,  and  narrowly  es¬ 
caped  with  his  life.  He  was  subsequently  seized  and  com¬ 
pelled  to  renounce  the  exercise  of  his  official  duties.  The 
house  of  General  Nevil,  inspector  of  the  revenue,  was 
assailed,  but  the  assailants  were  repulsed.  They  assem¬ 
bled  in  greater  numbers;  the  magistrates  and  militia  officers 
shrank  from  interfering,  lest  it  should  provoke  a  general 
insurrection;  a  few  regular  soldiers  were  obtained  from  the 
garrison  at  Fort  Pitt.  There  was  a  parley.  The  insurgents 
demanded  that  the  inspector  and  his  papers  should  be  given 
up ;  and  the  soldiers  march  out  of  the  house  and  ground  their 
arms.  The  demand  being  refused,  the  house  was  attacked, 
the  outhouses  set  on  fire,  and  the  garrison  was  compelled 
to  surrender.  The  marshal  and  inspector  finally  escaped 
out  of  the  country ;  descended  the  Ohio,  and,  by  a  circuitous 
route,  found  their  way  to  the  seat  of  government ;  bringing 
a  lamentable  tale  of  their  misadventures. 

Washington  deprecated  the  result  of  these  outrageous 
proceedings.  “If  the  laws  are  to  be  so  trampled  upon  with 
impunity,”  said  he,  “and  a  minority,  a  small  one,  too,  is  to 
dictate  to  the  majority,  there  is  an  end  put,  at  one  stroke, 
to  republican  government.” 


304 


U/or^s  of  U/asi?ir}<$toi7  Iruir?<$ 


It  was  intimated  that  the  insurgent  district  could  bring 
seven  thousand  men  into  the  field.  Delay  would  only  swell 
the  growing  disaffection.  On  the  7th  of  August  Washing¬ 
ton  issued  a  proclamation,  warning  the  insurgents  to  dis¬ 
perse,  and  declaring  that  if  tranquillity  were  not  restored 
before  the  1st  of  September,  force  would  be  employed  to 
compel  submission  to  the  laws.  To  show  that  this  was  not 
an  empty  threat,  he,  on  the  same  day,  made  a  requisition 
on  the  governors  of  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland, 
and  Virginia  for  militia  to  compose  an  army  of  twelve 
thousand  men;  afterward  augmented  to  fifteen  thousand. 

In  a  letter  to  the  Governor  of  Virginia  (Light-horse 
Harry  Lee),  he  says:  “I  consider  this  insurrection  as  the 
first  formidable  fruit  of  the  Democratic  Societies,  brought 
forth,  I  believe,  too  prematurely  for  their  own  views,  which 
may  contribute  to  the  annihilation  of  them. 

“That  these  societies  were  instituted  by  the  artful  and 
designing  members  (many  of  their  body,  I  have  no  doubt, 
mean  well,  but  know  little  of  the  real  plan),  primarily  to  sow 
among  the  people  the  seeds  of  jealousy  and  distrust  of  the 
government,  by  destroying  all  confidence  in  the  administra¬ 
tion  of  it,  and  that  these  doctrines  have  been  budding  and 
blowing  ever  since,  is  not  new  to  any  one  who  is  acquainted 
with  the  character  of  their  leaders,  and  has  been  attentive 
to  their  maneuvers.  I  early  gave  it  as  my  opinion  to  the 
confidential  characters  around  me,  that  if  these  societies  were 
not  counteracted  (not  by  prosecutions,  the  ready  way  to  make 
them  grow  stronger),  or  did  not  fall  into  disesteem  from  the 
knowledge  of  their  origin,  and  the  views  with  which  they 
had  been  instituted  by  their  father,  Genet,  for  purposes  well 
known  to  the  government,  they  would  shake  the  govern¬ 
ment  to  its  foundation.” 


Cife  of  U/asbffi^toi) 


305  • 


The  insurgents  manifesting  a  disposition  to  persevere 
in  their  rebellious  conduct,  the  President  issued  a  second 
proclamation  on  the  25th  of  September,  describing  in  forcible 
terms  the  perverse  and  obstinate  spirit  with  which  the  lenient 
propositions  of  government  had  been  met,  and  declaring  his 
fixed  purpose  to  reduce  the  refractory  to  obedience.  Shortly 
after  this  he  left  Philadelphia  for  Carlisle,  to  join  the  army, 
then  on  its  march  to  suppress  the  insurrection  in  the  western 
part  of  Pennsylvania. 

Just  as  Washington  was  leaving  Philadelphia,  a  letter 
was  put  into  his  hands  from  Major-general  Morgan.  The 
proclamation  had  roused  the  spirit  of  that  Revolutionary 
veteran.  He  was  on  his  way,  he  wrote,  to  join  the  expedi¬ 
tion  against  the  insurgents,  having  command  of  a  division 
of  the  Virginia  militia,  of  which  General  Lee  was  com- 
mander- in-chief. 

Washington  replied  from  Carlisle  to  his  old  companion 
in  arms:  “Although  I  regret  the  occasion  which  has  called 
you  into  the  field,  I  rejoice  to  hear  you  are  there ;  and  it  is 
probable  I  may  meet  you  at  Port  Cumberland,  whither  I 
shall  proceed  as  soon  as  I  see  the  troops  at  this  rendezvous 
in  condition  to  advance.  At  that  place,  or  at  Bedford,  my 
ulterior  resolution  must  be  taken,  either  to  advance  with  the 
troops  into  the  insurgent  counties  of  this  State,  or  to  return 
to  Philadelphia  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  Congress  the  3d 
of  next  month. 

“Imperious  circumstances  alone  can  justify  my  absence 
from  the  seat  of  government,  while  Congress  are  in  session; 
but  if  these,  from  the  disposition  of  the  people  in  the  refrac¬ 
tory  counties,  and  the  state  of  the  information  I  expect  to 
receive  at  the  advanced  posts,  should  appear  to  exist,  the 
less  must  yield  to  the  greater  duties  of  my  office,  and  I 


306 


U/or^s  of  U/asl?ii)<$tOQ  Iruip$ 


shall  cross  the  mountains  with  the  troops;  if  not,  I  shall 
place  the  command  of  the  combined  force  under  the 
orders  of  Governor  Lee  of  Virginia,  and  repair  to  the 
seat  of  government.’* 

We  will  here  note  that  Lawrence  Lewis,  a  son  of  Wash¬ 
ington’s  sister,  Mrs.  Fielding  Lewis,  having  caught  the  spirit 
of  arms,  accompanied  Morgan  as  aid-de-camp,  on  this  expe¬ 
dition.  The  prompt  zeal  with  which  he  volunteered  into  the 
service  of  his  country  was,  doubtless,  highly  satisfactory  to 
his  uncle,  with  whom,  it  will  be  seen,  he  was  a  great  favorite. 

On  the  9th  of  October  Washington  writes  from  Carlisle 
to  the  Secretary  of  State:  “The  insurgents  are  alarmed,  but 
not  yet  brought  to  their  proper  senses.  Every  means  is 
devised  by  them  and  their  friends  and  associates,  to  induce 
a  belief  that  there  is  no  necessity  for  troops  crossing  the 
mountains;  although  we  have  information,  at  the  same  time, 
that  part  of  the  people  there  are  obliged  to  embody  them¬ 
selves,  to  repel  the  insults  of  another  part.” 

On  the  10th,  the  Pennsylvania  troops  set  out  from  Car¬ 
lisle  for  their  rendezvous  at  Bedford,  and  Washington  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  Williamsport,  thence  to  go  on  to  Fort  Cumberland, 
the  rendezvous  of  the  Virginia  and  Maryland  troops.  He 
arrived  at  the  latter  place  on  the  16th  of  October,  and  found 
a  respectable  force  assembled  from  those  States,  and  learned 
that  fifteen  hundred  more  from  Virginia  were  at  hand.  All 
accounts  agreed  that  the  insurgents  were  greatly  alarmed 
at  the  serious  appearance  of  things.  “I  believe,”  writes 
Washington,  “the  eyes  of  all  the  well-disposed  people  of  this 
country  will  soon  be  opened,  and  that  they  will  clearly  see 
the  tendency,  if  not  the  design,  of  the  leader  of  the  self- 
created  societies.  As  far  as  I  have  heard  them  spoken  of, 
it  is  with  strong  reprobation.” 


Cife  of  U/asl?ir}<$toi) 


307 


At  Bedford  he  arranged  matters  and  settled  a  plan  of 
military  operations.  The  Governors  of  Virginia,  Maryland, 
and  Pennsylvania  were  at  the  head  of  the  troops  of  their 
respective  States,  but  Governor  Lee  was  to  have  the  general 
command.  This  done,  Washington  prepared  to  shape  his 
course  for  Philadelphia — “but  not,”  says  he  indignantly, 
“because  the  impertinence  of  Mr.  Bache,  or  his  correspon¬ 
dent,  has  undertaken  to  pronounce  that  I  cannot,  constitu¬ 
tionally,  command  the  army,  while  Congress  is  in  session.” 

In  a  letter  to  Governor  Lee,  on  leaving  him  in  command, 
he  conveyed  to  the  army  the  very  high  sense  he  entertained 
“of  the  enlightened  and  patriotic  zeal  for  the  constitution 
and  the  laws  which  had  led  them  cheerfully  to  quit  their 
families,  homes,  and  the  comforts  of  private  life,  to  under¬ 
take,  and  thus  far  to  perform,  a  long  and  fatiguing  march, 
and  to  encounter  and  endure  the  hardships  and  privations 
of  a  military  life.” 

“No  citizen  of  the  United  States,”  observes  he,  “can 
ever  be  engaged  in  a  service  more  important  to  their  country. 
It  is  nothing  less  than  to  consolidate  and  to  preserve  the 
blessings  of  that  revolution  which,  at  much  expense  of  blood 
and  treasure,  constituted  us  a  free  and  independent  nation.” 

His  parting  admonition  is — “that  every  officer  and  soldier 
will  constantly  bear  in  mind,  that  he  comes  to  support  the 
laws,  and  that  it  would  be  peculiarly  unbecoming  in  him 
to  be,  in  any  way,  the  infractor  of  them ;  that  the  essential 
principles  of  a  free  government  confine  the  province  of  the 
military,  when  called  forth  on  such  occasions,  to  these  two 
objects :  first,  to  combat  and  subdue  all  who  may  be  found 
in  arms  in  opposition  to  the  national  will  and  authority; 
secondly,  to  aid  and  support  the  civil  magistrates  in  bringing 
offenders  to  justice.  The  dispensation  of  this  justice  belongs 


308 


U/orKs  of  U/a8t?ir)$tor)  Iruffi^ 


to  the  civil  magistrates;  and  let  it  ever  be  our  pride  and  our 
glory  to  leave  the  sacred  deposit  there  inviolate.” 

Washington  pushed  on  for  Philadelphia  through  deep 
roads  and  a  three  days’  rain,  and  arrived  there  about  the 
last  of  October.  Governor  Lee  marched  with  the  troops  in 
two  divisions,  amounting  to  fifteen  thousand  men,  into  the 
western  counties  of  Pennsylvania.  This  great  military  array 
extinguished  at  once  the  kindling  elements  of  a  civil  war, 
by  making  resistance  desperate.  At  the  approach  of  so  over¬ 
whelming  a  force  the  insurgents  laid  down  their  arms,  and 
gave  assurance  of  submission,  and  craved  the  clemency  of 
government.  It  was  extended  to  them.  A  few  were  tried 
for  treason,  but  were  not  convicted;  but  as  some  spirit  of 
discontent  was  still  manifest,  Major-general  Morgan  was 
stationed  with  a  detachment  for  the  winter,  in  the  disaffected 
region. 

The  paternal  care  with  which  Washington  watched,  at 
all  times,  over  the  welfare  of  the  country,  was  manifested 
in  a  letter  to  General  Hamilton,  who  had  remained  with  the 
army.  “Press  the  governors  to  be  pointed  in  ordering  the 
officers  under  their  respective  commands  to  march  back  with 
their  respective  corps;  and  to  see  that  the  inhabitants  meet 
with  no  disgraceful  insults  or  injuries  from  them.” 

It  must  have  been  a  proud  satisfaction  to  Washington 
to  have  put  down,  without  an  effusion  of  blood,  an  insur¬ 
rection  which,  at  one  time,  threatened  such  serious  con¬ 
sequences.  In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Jay,  who  had  recently  gone 
minister  to  England,  he  writes:  “The  insurrection  in  the 
western  counties  of  this  State  will  be  represented  differently, 
according  to  the  wishes  of  some  and  the  prejudices  of  others, 
who  may  exhibit  it  as  an  evidence  of  what  has  been  pre¬ 
dicted,  ‘that  we  are  unable  to  govern  ourselves.’  Under 


Cife  of  U/asl?iQ<$tor) 


309 


this  view  of  the  subject,  I  am  happy  in  giving  it  to  you  as 
the  general  opinion,  that  this  event,  having  happened  at  the 
time  it  did,  was  fortunate,  although  it  will  be  attended  with 
considerable  expense.  ’  ’ 

After  expressing  his  opinion  that  the  “self -created  so¬ 
cieties’  *  who  were  laboring  to  effect  some  revolution  in  the 
government  were  the  fomenters  of  these  western  disturbances, 
he  adds:  “It  has  afforded  an  occasion  for  the  people  of  this 
country  to  shi/w  their  abhorrence  of  the  result  and  their 
attachment  to  the  constitution  and  the  laws;  for  I  believe 
that  five  times  the  number  of  militia  that  was  required  would 
have  come  forward,  if  it  had  been  necessary,  in  support  of 
them. 

“The  spirit  which  blazed  out  on  this  occasion,  as  soon 
as  the  object  was  fully  understood  and  the  lenient  measures 
of  the  government  were  made  known  to  the  people,  deserves 
to  be  communicated.  There  are  instances  of  general  officers 
going  at  the  head  of  a  single  troop,  and  of  light  companies ; 
of  field  officers,  when  they  came  to  the  place  of  rendezvous, 
and  found  no  command  for  them  in  that  grade,  turning  into 
the  ranks  and  proceeding  as  private  soldiers,  under  their 
own  captains;  and  of  numbers,  possessing  the  first  fortunes 
in  the  country,  standing  in  the  ranks  as  private  men,  and 
marching  day  by  day,  with  their  knapsacks  and  haversacks 
at  their  backs,  sleeping  on  straw  with  a  single  blanket  in  a 
soldier’s  tent,  during  the  frosty  nights  which  we  have  had, 
by  way  of  example  to  others.  Nay,  more,  many  young 
Quakers,  of  the  first  families,  character,  and  property,  not 
discouraged  by  the  elders,  have  turned  into  the  ranks  and 
marched  with  the  troops. 

“These  things  have  terrified  the  insurgents,  who  had  no 
conception  that  such  a  spirit  prevailed ;  but  while  the  thunder 


310 


U/or^s  of  U/asl?ii><$t09  Iruir><$ 


only  rumbled  at  a  distance,  were  boasting  of  their  strength 
and  wishing  for  and  threatening  the  militia  by  turns;  inti¬ 
mating  that  the  arms  they  should  take  from  them  would 
soon  become  a  magazine  in  their  hands.’ ’ 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-SIX 

Washington’s  Denunciation  of  Self-created  Societies — Not  relished 
by  Congress — Campaign  of  General  Wayne — Hamilton  reports 
a  Plan  for  the  Redemption  of  the  Public  Debt — And  retires 
from  his  Post  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury — Is  succeeded  by 
Oliver  Wolcott — Resignation  of  Knox — Succeeded  by  Timothy 
Pickering — Close  of  the  Session 

In  his  speech  on  the  opening  of  Congress  (November 
19th),  Washington,  in  adverting  to  the  insurrection  in  West¬ 
ern  Pennsylvania,  did  not  hesitate  to  denounce  “certain  self- 
created  societies”  as  “fomenters  of  it.”  After  detailing  its 
commencement  and  progress,  he  observes:  “While  there 
is  cause  to  lament  that  occurrences  of  this  nature  should 
have  disgraced  the  name  or  interrupted  the  tranquillity 
of  any  part  of  our  community,  or  should  have  diverted  to 
a  new  application  any  portion  of  the  public  resources,  there 
are  not  wanting  real  and  substantial  consolations  for  the 
misfortune.  It  has  demonstrated  that  our  prosperity  rests 
on  solid  foundations;  by  furnishing  an  additional  proof  that 
my  fellow -citizens  understand  the  true  principles  of  govern¬ 
ment  and  liberty;  that  they  feel  their  inseparable  union; 
that,  notwithstanding  all  the  devices  which  have  been  used 
to  sway  them  from  their  interest  and  duty,  they  are  now  as 
ready  to  maintain  the  authority  of  the  laws  against  licentious 
invasions,  as  they  were  to  defend  their  rights  against  usurpa¬ 
tion.  It  has  been  a  spectacle,  displaying  to  the  highest  ad- 


Cife  of  U/asbffi^tOQ 


311 


vantage  the  value  of  republican  government,  to  behold  the 
most  and  least  wealthy  of  our  citizens  standing  in  the  same 
ranks  as  private  soldiers;  pre-eminently  distinguished  by 
being  the  army  of  the  constitution ;  undeterred  by  a  march 
of  three  hundred  miles  over  rugged  mountains,  by  the  ap¬ 
proach  of  an  inclement  season,  or  by  any  other  discourage¬ 
ment.  Nor  ought  I  to  omit  to  acknowledge  the  efficacious 
and  patriotic  co-operation  which  I  have  experienced  from 
the  chief  magistrates  of  the  States  to  which  my  requisitions 
have  been  addressed. 

“To  every  description,  indeed,  of  citizens,  let  praise  be 
given;  but  let  them  persevere  in  their  affectionate  vigilance 
over  that  precious  depository  of  American  happiness,  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Let  them  cherish  it,  too, 
for  the  sake  of  those  who,  from  every  clime,  are  daily  seek¬ 
ing  a  dwelling  in  our  land.  And  when,  in  the  calm  mo¬ 
ments  of  reflection,  they  shall  have  retraced  the  origin  and 
progress  of  the  insurrection,  let  them  determine  whether 
it  has  not  been  fomented  by  combinations  of  men,  who, 
careless  of  consequences,  and  disregarding  the  unerring 
truth,  that  those  who  arouse  cannot  always  appease  a  civil 
convulsion,  have  disseminated  from  ignorance  or  perversion 
of  facts,  suspicions,  jealousies,  and  accusations  of  the  whole 
government.  ’  ’ 

This  denunciation  of  the  “self- created  societies’ ’  was  a 
bold  step,  by  which  he  was  sure  to  incur  their  resentment. 
It  was  not  relished  by  some  members  of  the  Senate,  but  the 
majority  gave  it  their  approval.  In  the  House,  where  the 
opposition  party  was  most  powerful,  this  passage  of  the  Presi¬ 
dent’s  speech  gave  rise  to  much  altercation,  and  finally,  the 
majority  showed  their  disapprobation  by  passing  it  over  in 
silence  in  the  address  voted  in  reply. 


312 


U/orks  of  U/asf?ir;<$toi)  Iruii}$ 


The  “self-created  societies, ”  however,  which  had  sprung 
up  in  various  parts  of  the  Union,  had  received  their  death¬ 
blow;  they  soon  became  odious  in  the  public  eye,  and  grad¬ 
ually  disappeared ;  following  the  fate  of  the  Jacobin  clubs 
in  France. 

It  was  with  great  satisfaction  that  Washington  had  been 
able  to  announce  favorable  intelligence  of  the  campaign  of 
General  Wayne  against  the  hostile  Indians  west  of  the  Ohio. 
That  brave  commander  had  conducted  it  with  a  judgment 
and  prudence  little  compatible  with  the  hare-brained  appella¬ 
tion  he  had  acquired  by  his  rash  exploits  during  the  Revolu¬ 
tion.  Leaving  his  winter  encampment  on  the  Ohio  in  the 
spring  (of  1794),  he  had  advanced  cautiously  into  the  wild 
country  west  of  it;  skirmishing  with  bands  of  lurking  sav¬ 
ages,  as  he  advanced,  and  establishing  posts  to  keep  up  com¬ 
munication  and  secure  the  transmission  of  supplies.  It  was 
not  until  the  8th  of  August  that  he  arrived  at  the  junction 
of  the  rivers  Au  Glaize  and  Miami,  in  a  fertile  and  populous 
region,  where  the  Western  Indians  had  their  most  important 
villages.  Here  he  threw  up  some  works,  which  he  named 
Fort  Defiance.  Being  strengthened  by  eleven  hundred 
mounted  volunteers  from  Kentucky,  his  force  exceeded  that 
of  the  savage  warriors  who  had  collected  to  oppose  him, 
which  scarcely  amounted  to  two  thousand  men.  These, 
however,  were  strongly  encamped  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort 
Miami,  a  British  post,  about  thirty  miles  distant,  and  far 
within  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  and  seemed  prepared 
to  give  battle,  expecting,  possibly,  to  be  aided  by  the  British 
garrison.  Wayne’s  men  were  eager  for  a  fight,  but  he, 
remembering  the  instructions  of  government,  restrained  his 
fighting  propensities.  In  a  letter  to  his  old  comrade  Knox, 
Secretary  of  War,  he  writes:  “Though  now  prepared  to 


Cife  of  U/asf?ii)$tor) 


313 


strike,  I  have  thought  proper  to  make  the  enemy  a  last 
overture  of  peace,  nor  am  I  without  hopes  that  they  will 
listen  to  it.” 

His  overture  was  ineffectual;  or  rather  the  reply  he 
received  was  such  as  to  leave  him  in  doubt  of  the  intentions 
of  the  enemy.  He  advanced,  therefore,  with  the  precautions 
he  had  hitherto  observed,  hoping  to  be  met  in  the  course 
of  his  march  by  deputies  on  peaceful  missions. 

On  the  20th,  being  arrived  near  to  the  enemy’s  position, 
his  advanced  guard  was  fired  upon  by  an  ambush  of  the 
enemy  concealed  in  a  thicket,  and  was  compelled  to  retreat. 
The  general  now  ordered  an  attack  of  horse  and  foot  upon 
the  enemy’s  position;  the  Indians  were  roused  from  their 
lair  with  the  point  of  the  bayonet ;  driven,  fighting,  for  more 
than  two  miles,  through  thick  woods,  and  pursued  with 
great  slaughter,  until  within  gunshot  of  the  British  fort. 
“"We  remained,”  writes  the  general,  “three  days  and  nights 
on  the  banks  of  the  Miami,  in  front  of  the  field  of  battle, 
during  which  time  all  the  houses  and  corn  were  consumed, 
or  otherwise  destroyed,  for  a  considerable  distance  both 
above  and  below  Fort  Miami;  and  we  were  within  pistol- 
shot  of  the  garrison  of  that  place,  who  were  compelled  to 
remain  quiet  spectators  of  this  general  devastation  and  con¬ 
flagration.” 

It  was  trusted  that  this  decisive  battle,  and  the  wide 
ravages  of  villages  and  fields  of  corn  with  which  it  was  suc¬ 
ceeded,  would  bring  the  Indians  to  their  senses,  and  compel 
them  to  solicit  the  peace  which  they  had  so  repeatedly 
rejected. 

In  his  official  address  to  Congress,  W ashington  had  urged 
the  adoption  of  some  definite  plan  for  the  redemption  of  the 

public  debt.  A  plan  was  reported  by  Mr.  Hamilton,  20th 

Vol.  XY.-; ***14 


314 


U/orl^g  of  U/asf?ir)<$tor)  Irui r><^ 


January,  1795,  which  he  had  digested  and  prepared  on  the 
basis  of  the  actual  revenues,  for  the  further  support  of  public 
credit.  The  report  embraced  a  comprehensive  view  of  the 
system  which  he  had  pursued,  and  made  some  recommen¬ 
dations,  which  after  much  debate  were  adopted. 

So  closed  Mr.  Hamilton’s  labors  as  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury.  He  had  long  meditated  a  retirement  from  his 
post,  the  pay  of  which  was  inadequate  to  the  support  of 
his  family,  but  had  postponed  it,  first,  on  account  of  the 
accusations  brought  against  him  in  the  second  Congress, 
and  of  which  he  awaited  the  investigation;  secondly,  in 
consequence  of  events  which  rendered  the  prospect  of  a  con¬ 
tinuance  of  peace  precarious.  But  these  reasons  no  longer 
operating,  he  gave  notice,  on  his  return  from  the  Western 
country,  that  on  the  last  day  of  the  ensuing  month  of  January 
he  should  give  in  his  resignation.  He  did  so,  and  received 
the  following  note  from  Washington  on  the  subject:  “After 
so  long  an  experience  of  your  public  services,  I  am  naturally 
led,  at  this  moment  of  your  departure  from  office  (which  it 
✓  has  always  been  my  wish  to  prevent),  to  review  them.  In 
every  relation  which  you  have  borne  to  me,  I  have  found 
that  my  confidence  in  your  talents,  exertions  and  integrity 
has  been  well  placed.  I  the  more  freely  render  this  testi¬ 
mony  of  my  approbation,  because  I  speak  from  opportunities 
of  information  which  cannot  deceive  me,  and  which  furnish 
satisfactory  proof  of  your  title  to  public  regard. 

“My  most  earnest  wishes  for  your  happiness  will  attend 
you  in  your  retirement,  and  you  may  assure  yourself  of  the 
sincere  esteem,  regard  and  friendship  of,  dear  sir,  your 
affectionate,”  etc.* 


* 


Writings,  xi.  1G. 


Cife  of  U/as^ii^toi} 


315 


Hamilton’s  reply  manifests  liis  sense  of  the  kindness  of 
this  letter.  “As  often  as  I  may  recall  the  vexations  I  have 
endured,”  writes  he,  “your  approbation  will  be  a  great  and 
precious  consolation.  It  was  not  without  a  struggle  that 
I  yielded  to  the  very  urgent  motives  which  impelled  me  to 
relinquish  a  station  in  which  I  could  hope  to  be  in  any  degree 
instrumental  in  promoting  the  success  of  an  administration 
under  your  direction.  .  .  .  Whatever  may  be  my  destina¬ 
tion  hereafter,  I  entreat  you  to  be  persuaded  (not  the  less 
from  my  having  been  sparing  in  professions)  that  I  shall  never 
cease  to  render  a  just  tribute  to  those  eminent  and  excellent 
qualities  which  have  been  already  productive  of  so  many 
blessings  to  your  country ;  that  you  will  always  have  my 
fervent  wishes  for  your  public  and  personal  felicity,  and  that 
it  will  be  my  pride  to  cultivate  a  continuance  of  that  esteem, 
regard  and  friendship  of  which  you  do  me  the  honor  to  assure 
me.  With  true  respect  and  affectionate  attachment,  I  have 
the  honor  to  be,”  etc.* 

Hamilton  was  succeeded  in  office  by  Oliver  Wolcott,  of 
Connecticut,  a  man  of  judgment  and  ability,  who  had  served 
as  Comptroller,  and  was  familiar  with  the  duties  of  the  office. 

Knox  likewise  had  given  in  his  resignation  at  the  close 
of  the  month  of  December.  “After  having  served  my  coun¬ 
try  nearly  twenty  years,”  writes  he  to  Washington,  “the 
greatest  portion  of  which  under  your  immediate  auspices, 
it  is  with  extreme  reluctance  that  I  find  myself  constrained 
to  withdraw  from  so  honorable  a  station.  But  the  natural 
and  powerful  claims  of  a  numerous  family  will  no  longer 
permit  me  to  neglect  their  essential  interests.  In  whatever 
situation  I  shall  be,  I  shall  recollect  your  confidence  and 


i 


*  Writings,  xi.  16. 


ll/or^s  of  H/a8^ip<$fcoi7  Iruir)<$ 


316 

kindness  with  all  the  fervor  and  purity  of  affection  of  which 
a  grateful  heart  is  susceptible.’ ’ 

“I  cannot  suffer  you,”  replies  Washington,  “to  close 
your  public  service,  without  uniting  with  the  satisfaction 
which  must  arise  in  your  own  mind  from  a  conscious  recti¬ 
tude,  my  most  perfect  persuasion  that  you  have  deserved 
well  of  your  country. 

“My  personal  knowledge  of  your  exertions,  while  it 
authorizes  me  to  hold  this  language,  justifies  the  sincere 
friendship  which  I  have  ever  borne  for  you,  and  which  will 
accompany  you  in  every  situation  of  life;  being  with  affec¬ 
tionate  regard,  always  yours,”  etc. 

There  was  always  a  kindly  warmth  in  Washington’s 
expressions  toward  the  buoyant  General  Knox.  Knox  was 
succeeded  in  the  War  Department  by  Colonel  Timothy  Pick¬ 
ering,  at  that  time  Postmaster-general. 

The  session  of  Congress  closed  on  the  3d  of  March,  1795. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-SEVEN 

Washington’s  Anxiety  about  the  Progress  of  the  Negotiation  with 
England — Jay’s  Treaty  arrives  for  Ratification — Predisposition 
to  condemn— Return  of  Jay — Adet  succeeds  Fauchet  as  Minis¬ 
ter  from  France — The  Treaty  laid  before  the  Senate— Ratified 
with  a  Qualification — A  Novel  Question — Popular  Discontent — 
Abstract  of  the  Treaty  published — Violent  Opposition  to  it — 
Washington  resolved  to  Ratify — His  Resolution  suspended — 
Goes  to  Mount  Vernon — Reply  to  an  Address  from  Boston 
— Increasing  Clamor 

Washington  had  watched  the  progress  of  the  mission 
of  Mr.  Jay  to  England  with  an  anxious  eye.  He  was  aware 
that  he  had  exposed  his  popularity  to  imminent  hazard,  by 


Cife  of  U/asbii?$tOQ 


317 

making  an  advance  toward  a  negotiation  with  that  power ; 
but  what  was  of  still  greater  moment  with  him,  he  was 
aware  that  the  peace  and  happiness  of  his  country  were  at 
stake  on  the  result  of  that  mission.  It  was,  moreover,  a 
mission  of  great  delicacy,  from  the  many  intricate  and  diffi¬ 
cult  points  to  be  discussed,  and  the  various  and  mutual 
grounds  of  complaint  to  be  adjusted. 

Mr.  Jay,  in  a  letter  dated  August  5,  1794,  had  informed 
him  confidentially  that  the  ministry  were  prepared  to  settle 
the  matters  in  dispute  upon  just  and  liberal  terms;  still, 
what  those  terms,  which  they  conceived  to  be  just  and 
liberal,  might  prove,  when  they  came  to  be  closely  dis¬ 
cussed,  no  one  could  prognosticate. 

Washington  hardly  permitted  himself  to  hope  for  the 
complete  success  of  the  mission.  To  “give  and  take,”  he 
presumed  would  be  the  result.  In  the  meantime  there  were 
so  many  hot  heads  and  impetuous  spirits  at  home  to  be  man¬ 
aged  and  restrained,  that  he  was  anxious  the  negotiation 
might  assume  a  decisive  form  and  be  brought  to  a  speedy 
close.  He  was  perplexed  too,  by  what,  under  existing  cir¬ 
cumstances,  appeared  piratical  conduct,  on  the  part  of  Ber¬ 
mudan  privateers  persisting  in  capturing  American  vessels. 

At  length,  on  the  7th  of  March,  1795,  four  days  after 
the  close  of  the  session  of  Congress,  a  treaty  arrived  which 
had  been  negotiated  by  Mr.  Jay,  and  signed  by  the  minis¬ 
ters  of  the  two  nations  on  the  19th  of  ^November,  and  was 
sent  out  for  ratification. 

In  a  letter  to  Washington,  which  accompanied  the  treaty, 
Mr.  J ay  wrote :  “To  do  more  was  impossible.  I  ought  not 
to  conceal  from  you  that  the  confidence  reposed  in  your 
personal  character  was  visible  and  useful  throughout  the 
negotiation.” 


818 


Worlds  of  U/a8l?ii}$tor}  Irvip$ 


Washington  immediately  made  the  treaty  a  close  study; 
some  of  the  provisions  were  perfectly  satisfactory;  of  others, 
he  did  not  approve ;  on  the  whole,  he  considered  it  a  matter, 
to  use  his  own  expression,  of  “give  and  take,”  and  believing 
the  advantages  to  outweigh  the  objections,  and  that,  as  Mr. 
Jay  alleged,  it  was  the  best  treaty  attainable,  he  made  up 
his  mind  to  ratify  it,  should  it  be  approved  by  the  Senate. 

As  a  system  of  predetermined  hostility  to  the  treaty,  how¬ 
ever,  was  already  manifested,  and  efforts  were  made  to 
awaken  popular  jealousy  concerning  it,  Washington  kept 
its  provisions  secret,  that  the  public  mind  might  not  be  pre¬ 
occupied  on  the  subject.  In  the  course  of  a  few  days,  how¬ 
ever,  enough  leaked  out  to  be  seized  upon  by  the  opposition 
press  to  excite  public  distrust,  though  not  enough  to  convey 
a  distinct  idea  of  the  merits  of  the  instrument.  In  fact,  the 
people  were  predisposed  to  condemn,  because  vexed  that  any 
overtures  had  been  made  toward  a  negotiation,  such  over¬ 
tures  having  been  stigmatized  as  cowardly  and  degrading. 
If  it  had  been  necessary  to  send  a  minister  to  England,  said 
they,  it  should  have  been  to  make  a  downright  demand  of 
reparation  for  wrongs  inflicted  on  our  commerce,  and  the 
immediate  surrender  of  the  Western  posts. 

In  the  meantime  Jay  arrived,  on  the  28th  of  May,  and 

found  that  during  his  absence  in  Europe  he  had  been  elected 

/ 

governor  of  the  State  of  New  York;  an  honorable  election, 
the  result  of  no  effort  nor  intrigue,  but  of  the  public  sense 
entertained  by  his  native  State  of  his  pure  and  exalted 
merit.  He,  in  consequence,  resigned  the  office  of  Chief- 
justice  of  the  United  States. 

In  the  course  of  this  month  arrived  Mr.  Adet,  who  had 
been  appointed  by  the  French  government  to  succeed  Mr. 
Fauchet  as  minister  to  the  United  States.  He  brought  with 


Cife  of  U/asl?iQ<$tor) 


319 


him  the  colors  of  France  which  the  Convention  had  instructed 
him  to  present  as  a  testimonial  of  friendship,  in  return  for 
the  American  flag  which  had  been  presented  by  Mr.  Monroe. 
The  presentation  of  the  colors  was  postponed  by  him  for  the 
present. 

The  Senate  was  convened  by  Washington  on  the  8th  of 
June,  and  the  treaty  of  Mr.  Jay  was  laid  before  it,  with  its 
accompanying  documents.  The  session  was  with  closed 
doors,  discussions  were  long  and  arduous,  and  the  treaty 
underwent  a  scrutinizing  examination.  The  twelfth  article 
met  with  especial  objections. 

This  article  provided  for  a  direct  trade  between  the  United 
States  and  the  British  West  India  Islands,  in  American 
vessels  not  exceeding  seventy  tons  burden,  conveying  the 
produce  of  the  States  or  of  the  Islands;  but  it  prohibited 
the  exportation  of  molasses,  sugar,  coffee,  cocoa,  or  cotton, 
in  American  vessels,  either  from  the  United  States  or  the 
Islands,  to  any  part  of  the  world.  Under  this  article  it  was 
a  restricted  intercourse,  but  Mr.  Jay  considered  the  admis¬ 
sion,  even  of  small  vessels,  to  the  trade  of  these  islands,  an 
important  advantage  to  the  commerce  of  the  United  States. 
He  had  not  sufficiently  adverted  to  the  fact  that,  among  the 
prohibited  articles,  cotton  was  also  a  product  of  the  Southern 
States.  Its  cultivation  had  been  but  recently  introduced 
there;  so  that  when  he  sailed  for  Europe  hardly  sufficient 
had  been  raised  for  domestic  consumption,  and  at  the  time 
of  signing  the  treaty  very  little,  if  any,  had  been  exported. 
Still  it  was  now  becoming  an  important  staple  of  the  South, 
and  hence  the  objection  of  the  Senate  to  this  article  of  the 
treaty.  On  the  24th  of  June,  two- thirds  of  the  Senate, 
the  constitutional  majority,  voted  for  the  ratification  of  the 
treaty;  stipulating,  however,  that  an  article  be  added  sus- 


320 


U/orKs  of  U/as^iQ<$toi)  Iruir}<$ 


pending  so  much  of  the  twelfth  article  as  respected  the 
West  India  trade,  and  that  the  President  be  requested  to 
open,  without  delay,  further  negotiation  on  this  head. 

Here  was  a  novel  case  to  be  determined.  Could  the 
Senate  be  considered  to  have  ratified  the  treaty  before  the 
insertion  of  this  new  article?  Was  the  act  complete  and 
final,  so  as  to  render  it  unnecessary  to  refer  it  back  to  that 
body?  Could  the  President  put  his  final  seal  upon  an  act 
before  it  was  complete?  After  much  reflection,  Washington 
was  satisfied  of  the  propriety  of  ratifying  the  treaty  with  the 
qualification  imposed  by  the  Senate. 

In  the  meantime  the  popular  discontent  which  had  been 
excited  concerning  the  treaty  was  daily  increasing.  The 
secrecy  which  had  been  maintained  with  regard  to  its  pro¬ 
visions  was  wrested  into  a  cause  of  offense.  Republics  should 
have  no  secrets.  The  Senate  should  not  have  deliberated 
on  the  treaty  with  closed  doors. 

Such  was  the  irritable  condition  of  the  public  mind  when, 
on  the  29th  of  June,  a  Senator  of  the  United  States  (Mr. 
Mason  of  Virginia)  sent  an  abstract  of  the  treaty  to  be  pub¬ 
lished  in  a  leading  opposition  paper  in  Philadelphia. 

The  whole  country  was  immediately  in  a  blaze.  Besides 
the  opposition  party,  a  portion  of  the  Cabinet  was  against 
the  ratification.  Of  course  it  received  but  a  faltering  sup¬ 
port,  while  the  attack  upon  it  was  vehement  and  sustained. 
The  assailants  seemed  determined  to  carry  their  point  by 
storm.  Meetings  to  oppose  the  ratification  were  held  in 
Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore  and  Charleston. 
The  smaller  towns  throughout  the  Union  followed  their 
example.  In  New  York,  a  copy  of  the  treaty  was  burned 
before  the  governor’s  house.  In  Philadelphia,  it  was  sus¬ 
pended  on  a  pole,  carried  about  the  streets,  and  finally  burned 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii)$toi) 


321 


in  front  of  the  British  minister’s  house,  amid  the  shoutings 
of  the  populace.  The  whole  country  seemed  determined, 
by  prompt  and  clamorous  manifestations  of  dissatisfaction, 
to  make  Washington  give  way. 

He  saw  their  purpose ;  he  was  aware  of  the  odious  points 
of  view  on  which  the  treaty  might  justly  be  placed;  his  own 
opinion  was  not  particularly  favorable  to  it;  but  he  was 
convinced  that  it  was  better  to  ratify  it,  in  the  manner  the 
Senate  had  ad  rised,  and  with  the  reservation  already  men¬ 
tioned,  than  to  suffer  matters  to  remain  in  their  present  un¬ 
settled  and  precarious  state. 

Before  he  could  act  upon  this  conviction  a  new  difficulty 
arose  to  suspend  his  resolution.  News  came  that  the  order 
of  the  British  government  of  the  8th  of  June,  1793,  for  the 
seizure  of  provisions  in  vessels  going  to  French  ports,  was 
renewed.  Washington  instantly  directed  that  a  strong 
memorial  should  be  drawn  up  against  this  order;  as  it 
seemed  to  favor  a  construction  of  the  treaty  which  he  was 
determined  to  resist.  While  this  memorial  was  in  course 
of  preparation  he  was  called  off  to  Mount  Vernon.  On  his 
way  thither,  though  little  was  said  to  him  on  the  subject 
of  the  treaty,  he  found,  he  says,  from  indirect  discourses, 
that  endeavors  were  making  to  place  it  in  all  the  odious 
points  of  view  of  which  it  was  susceptible,  and  in  some 
which  it  would  not  admit. 

The  proceedings  and  resolves  of  town  meetings,  also, 
savoring  as  he  thought  of  party  prejudice,  were  forwarded 
to  him  by  express,  and  added  to  his  disquiet.  “Party  dis¬ 
putes  are  now  carried  to  such  a  length,”  writes  he,  “and 
truth  is  so  enveloped  in  mist  and  false  representation,  that 
it  is  extremely  difficult  to  know  through  what  channel  to 
seek  it.  This  difficulty,  to  one  who  is  of  no  party,  and 


322 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?ir}<$tor)  Iruii)<$ 


whose  sole  wish  is  to  pursue  with  undeviating  steps  a  path 
which  would  lead  this  country  to  respectability,  wealth,  and 
happiness,  is  exceedingly  to  be  lamented.  But  such,  for 
wise  purposes  it  is  presumed,  is  the  turbulence  of  human 
passions  in  party  disputes,  when  victory  more  than  truth  is 
the  palm  contended  for,  that  ‘the  post  of  honor  is  a  private 
station .’  ”  * 

The  opposition  made  to  the  treaty  from  meetings  in 
different  parts  of  the  Union  gave  him  the  most  serious 
uneasiness,  from  the  effect  it  might  have  on  the  relations 
with  France  and  England.  His  reply  (July  28th)  to  an 
address  from  the  selectmen  of  Boston,  contains  the  spirit 
of  his  replies  to  other  addresses  of  the  kind,  and  shows  the 
principles  which  influenced  him  in  regard  to  the  treaty: 

“In  every  act  of  my  administration,”  said  he,  “I  have 
sought  the  happiness  of  my  fellow-citizens.  My  system  for 
the  attainment  of  this  object  has  uniformly  been  to  overlook 
all  personal,  local  and  partial  considerations;  to  contemplate 
the  United  States  as  one  great  whole;  to  confide  that  sudden 
impressions,  when  erroneous,  would  yield  to  candid  reflec¬ 
tion;  and  to  consult  only  the  substantial  and  permanent 
interests  of  our  country.  Nor  have  I  departed  from  this 
line  of  conduct,  on  the  occasion  which  has  produced  the 
resolutions  contained  in  your  letter. 

“Without  a  predilection  for  my  own  judgment  I  have 
weighed  with  attention  every  argument  which  has  at  any 
time  been  brought  into  view.  But  the  constitution  is  the 
guide  which  I  never  can  abandon.  It  has  assigned  to  the 
President  the  power  of  making  treaties  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  Senate.  It  was,  doubtless,  supposed  that 


*  Writings,  xi.  40. 


Cife  of  U/asl?ip($Cor> 


323 


these  two  branches  of  government  would  combine,  without 
passion,  and  with  the  best  means  of  information,  those  facts 
and  principles  upon  which  the  success  of  our  foreign  rela¬ 
tions  will  always  depend ;  that  they  ought  not  to  substitute 
for  their  own  conviction  the  opinions  of  others,  or  to  seek 
truth  through  any  channel  but  that  of  a  temperate  and  well- 
informed  investigation. 

“Under  this  persuasion,  I  have  resolved  on  the  manner 
of  executing  the  duty  before  me.  To  the  high  responsibility 
of  it,  I  freely  submit,  and  you,  gentlemen,  are  at  liberty  to 
make  these  sentiments  known  as  the  grounds  of  my  proced¬ 
ure.  While  I  feel  the  most  lively  gratitude  for  the  many  in¬ 
stances  of  approbation  from  my  country,  I  cannot  otherwise 
deserve  it  than  by  obeying  the  dictates  of  my  conscience.”  * 

The  violence  of  the  opposition  increased.  Washington 
perceived  that  the  prejudices  against  the  treaty  were  more 
extensive  than  was  generally  imagined.  “How  should  it  be 
otherwise,”  said  he,  “when  no  stone  has  been  left  unturned 
that  could  impress  on  the  minds  of  the  people  the  most  ar¬ 
rant  misrepresentation  of  facts;  that  their  rights  have  not 
only  been  neglected,  but  absolutely  sold;  that  there  are  no 
reciprocal  advantages  in  the  treaty ;  that  the  benefits  are  all 
on  the  side  of  Great  Britain ;  and  what  seems  to  have  had 
more  weight  with  them  than  all  the  rest,  and  to  have  been 
most  pressed,  that  the  treaty  is  made  with  the  design  to  op¬ 
press  the  French,  in  open  violation  of  our  treaty  with  that 
nation;  and  contrary,  too,  to  every  principle  of  gratitude 
and  sound  policy.” 

Never,  during  his  administration,  had  he  seen  a  crisis,  in 
his  judgment,  so  pregnant  with  interesting  events,  nor  one 


*  Writings.  Sparks,  xi.  42. 


324 


U/or^s  of  U/asl?ii7$tor>  Irvir>$ 


from  which,  whether  viewed  on  one  side  or  the  other,  more 
was  to  be  apprehended. 

If  the  treaty  were  ratified,  the  partisans  of  the  French, 
4 4 or  rather,”  said  he,  “of  war  and  confusion,”  would  excite 
them  to  hostility ;  if  not  ratified,  there  was  no  foreseeing  the 
consequences  as  it  respected  Great  Britain.  It  was  a  crisis, 
he  said,  that  most  eminently  called  upon  the  administration 
to  be  wise  and  temperate,  as  well  as  firm.  The  public  clamor 
continued,  and  induced  a  reiterated  examination  of  the  sub¬ 
ject;  but  did  not  shake  his  purpose.  “  There  is  but  one 
sti'aight  course ,”  said  he,  “and  that  is  to  seek  truth  and 
pursue  it  steadily .”  * 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-EIGHT 

Washington  recalled  to  the  Seat  of  Government — Conduct  of  Ran¬ 
dolph  brought  in  Question — Treaty  signed — Resignation  of  Ran¬ 
dolph — His  Correspondence  with  Washington— Unlimited  Dis¬ 
closure  permitted — Appearance  of  his  Vindication— Pickering 
transferred  to  the  Department  of  State — McHenry  appointed 
Secretary  of  War — Arrival  of  George  Washington  Lafayette 

The  difficult  and  intricate  questions  pressing  upon  the 
attention  of  government  left  Washington  little  mood  to  en¬ 
joy  the  retirement  of  Mount  Vernon,  being  constantly  in 
doubt  whether  his  presence  in  Philadelphia  were  not  neces¬ 
sary.  In  his  letters  to  Randolph,  he  requested  to  be  kept 
continually  advised  on  this  head.  “While  I  am  in  office  I 
shall  never  suffer  private  convenience  to  interfere  with  what 
I  conceive  to  be  my  official  duty.” — “I  do  not  require  more 
than  a  day’s  notice  to  repair  to  the  seat  of  government.” 

*  See  Letters  to  Edmund  Randolph.  Writings,  xi.,  pp. 
45-51. 


Cife  of  U/asfyii)$tog 


325 


His  promptness  was  soon  put  to  the  test.  Early  in  Au¬ 
gust  came  a  mysterious  letter,  dated  July  31,  from  Mr.  Pick 
ering,  the  Secretary  of  W  ar. 

“On  the  subject  of  the  treaty,”  writes  Pickering,  “I  con¬ 
fess  I  feel  extreme  solicitude,  and  for  a  special  reason ,  which 
can  be  communicated  to  you  only  in  person.  I  entreat,  there¬ 
fore,  that  you  will  return  with  all  convenient  speed  to  the 
seat  of  government.  In  the  meanwhile,  for  the  reason  above 
referred  to,  I  pray  you  to  decide  on  no  important  political 
measure,  in  whatever  form  it  may  be  presented  to  you.  Mr. 
Wolcott  and  I  (Mr.  Bradford  concurring)  waited  on  Mr. 
Randolph,  and  urged  his  writing  to  request  your  return. 
He  wrote  in  our  presence,  but  we  concluded  a  letter  from 
one  of  us  also  expedient.  With  the  utmost  sincerity  I  sub¬ 
scribe  myself  yours  and  my  country’s  friend.  This  letter  is 
for  your  own  eye  alone.” 

The  receipt  of  this  enigmatical  letter  induced  Washing¬ 
ton  to  cut  short  his  sojourn  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  hasten  to 
Philadelphia.  He  arrived  there  on  the  11th  of  August;  and 
on  the  same  day  received  a  solution  of  the  mystery.  A  dis¬ 
patch  written  by  Fauchet,  the  French  minister,  to  his  gov¬ 
ernment,  in  the  preceding  month  of  November,  was  placed 
in  Washington’s  hands,  with  a  translation  of  it  made  by  Mr. 
Pickering.  The  dispatch  had  been  found  on  board  of  a 
French  privateer,  captured  by  a  British  frigate,  and  had 
been  transmitted  to  the  ministry.  Lord  Grenville,  finding 
it  contained  passages  relating  to  the  intercourse  of  Mr.  Ran¬ 
dolph,  the  American  Secretary  of  State,  with  Mr.  Fauchet, 
had  sent  it  to  Mr.  Hammond,  the  British  minister  in  Phila¬ 
delphia.  He  had  put  it  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Wolcott,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  who  had  shown  it  to  the  Secretary 
of  War  and  the  Attorney-general;  and  the  contents  had  been 


326 


U/orKs  of  U/asi?ii}<Jtoi}  Iruip$ 


considered  so  extraordinary  as  to  call  forth  the  mysterious 
letter  entreating  the  prompt  return  of  Washington. 

The  following  passages  in  Fauchet’s  intercepted  dispatch 
related  to  the  Western  insurrection  and  the  proclamation  of 
Washington : 

“Two  or  three  days  before  the  proclamation  was  pub¬ 
lished,  and  of  course  before  the  cabinet  had  resolved  on  its 
measures,  the  Secretary  of  State  came  to  my  house.  All  his 
countenance  was  grief.  He  requested  of  me  a  private  con¬ 
versation.  It  was  all  over,  he  said  to  me ;  a  civil  war  is 
about  to  ravage  our  unhappy  country.  Four  men,  by  their 
talents,  their  influence,  and  their  energy,  may  save  it.  But, 
debtors  of  English  merchants,  they  will  be  deprived  of  their 
liberty  if  they  take  the  smallest  step.  Could  you  lend  them 
instantaneously  funds  to  shelter  them  from  English  prosecu¬ 
tion?  This  inquiry  astonished  me  much.  It  was  impossible 
for  me  to  make  a  satisfactory  answer.  You  know  my  want 
of  power  and  deficiency  in  pecuniary  means.  .  .  .  Thus, 
with  some  thousands  of  dollars,  the  Republic  could  have  de¬ 
cided  on  civil  war  or  peace.  Thus  the  consciences  of  the 
pretended  patriots  of  America  have  already  their  price.” 
— “What  will  be  the  old  age  of  this  government,  if  it  is  thus 
already  decrepit?” 

The  perusal  of  the  letter  gave  Washington  deep  perplex¬ 
ity  and  concern.  He  revolved  the  matter  in  his  mind  in  si¬ 
lence.  The  predominant  object  of  his  thoughts  recently  had 
been  to  put  a  stop  to  the  public  agitation  on  the  subject  of 
the  treaty;  and  he  postponed  any  new  question  of  difficulty 
until  decided  measures  had  laid  the  other  at  rest.  On  the 
next  day,  therefore  (12th),  he  brought  before  the  cabinet  the 
question  of  immediate  ratification.  All  the  members  were 

t 

in  favor  of  it  excepting  Mr.  Randolph;  he  had  favored  it 


Cife  of  U/asl?ir)<$tor} 


327 


before  the  news  of  the  British  provision  order,  but  now  pro¬ 
nounced  it  unadvisable,  until  that  order  were  revoked,  and 
there  should  be  an  end  of  the  war  between  France  and  Eng¬ 
land.  This  led  to  further  discussion,  and  it  was  finally 
agreed  to  ratify  the  treaty  immediately;  but  to  accompany 
the  ratification  with  a  strong  memorial  against  the  provision 
order.  The  ratification  was  signed  by  Washington  on  the 
18th  of  August. 

His  conduct  toward  Randolph,  in  the  interim,  had  been 
as  usual,  but  now  that  the  dispatch  of  public  business  no 
longer  demanded  the  entire  attention  of  the  cabinet,  he  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  clear  up  the  doubts  occasioned  by  the  intercepted 
dispatch.  Accordingly,  on  the  following  day,  as  Randolph 
entered  the  cabinet,  Washington,  who  was  conversing  with 
Pickering  and  W  olcott,  rose  and  handed  to  him  the  letter  of 
Fauchet,  asking  an  explanation  of  the  questionable  parts. 

Randolph  appears  to  have  been  less  agitated  by  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  the  letter  than  hurt  that  the  inquiry  concerning  it 
had  not  first  been  made  of  him  in  private.  He  postponed 
making  any  specific  reply,  until  he  should  have  time  to  ex¬ 
amine  the  letter  at  his  leisure ;  and  observed  on  retiring  that, 
after  the  treatment  he  had  experienced,  he  could  not  think 
of  remaining  in  office  a  moment  longer. 

In  a  letter  to  the  President  the  same  day  he  writes: 
4  4  Your  confidence  in  me,  sir,  has  been  unlimited,  and  I  can 
truly  affirm  unabused.  My  sensations,  then,  cannot  be  con¬ 
cealed,  when  I  find  that  confidence  so  suddenly  withdrawn, 
without  a  word  or  distant  hint  being  previously  dropped  to 
me.  This,  sir,  as  I  mentioned  in  your  room,  is  a  situation 
in  which  I  cannot  hold  my  present  office,  and  therefore  I 
hereby  resign  it. 

“It  will  not,  however,  be  concluded  from  hence  that  I 


328 


U/orks  of  lI/astyir)$tOQ  Iruii?<$ 


mean  to  relinquish  the  inquiry.  No,  sir,  very  far  from  it. 
I  will  also  meet  any  inquiry ;  and  to  prepare  for  it,  if  I  learn 
there  is  a  chance  of  overtaking  Mr.  Fauchet  before  he  sails, 
I  will  go  to  him  immediately. 

“I  have  to  beg  the  favor  of  you  to  permit  me  to  be 
furnished  with  a  copy  of  the  letter,  and  I  will  prepare  an 
answer  to  it;  which  I  perceive  that  I  cannot  do  as  I  wish, 
merely  upon  the  few  hasty  memoranda  which  I  took  with 
my  pencil. 

“I  am  satisfied,  sir,  that  you  will  acknowledge  one  piece 
of  justice  to  be  due  on  the  occasion;  which  is,  that  until  an 
inquiry  can  be  made  the  affair  shall  continue  in  secrecy  un¬ 
der  your  injunction.  For,  after  pledging  myself  for  a  more 

specific  investigation  of  all  the  suggestions,  I  here  most  sol- 
« 

emnly  deny  that  any  overture  came  from  me  which  was  to 
produce  money  to  me  or  any  others  for  me ;  and  that  in  any 
manner,  directly  or  indirectly,  was  a  shilling  every  received 
by  me;  nor  was  it  ever  contemplated  by  me  that  one  shilling 
should  be  applied  by  Mr.  Fauchet  to  any  purpose  relative  to 
the  insurrection.” 

Washington,  in  a  reply  on  the  following  day,  in  which  he 
accepted  his  resignation,  observes:  “While  you  are  in  pur¬ 
suit  of  means  to  remove  the  strong  suspicions  arising  from 
this  letter,  no  disclosure  of  its  contents  will  be  made  by  me ; 
and  I  will  enjoin  the  same  on  the  public  officers  who  are  ac¬ 
quainted  with  the  purport  of  it,  unless  something  will  appear 
to  render  an  explanation  necessary  on  the  part  of  the  govern¬ 
ment,  and  of  which  I  will  be  the  judge.” 

And  on  a  subsequent  occasion  he  writes :  “No  man  would 
rejoice  more  than  I  to  find  that  the  suspicions  which  have 
resulted  from  the  intercepted  letter  were  unequivocally  and 
honorably  removed.” 


Cife  of  U/asl?ir}<$toi} 


329 


Mr.  Fauchet,  in  the  meantime,  having  learned,  previous 
to  embarkation,  that  his  dispatch  had  been  intercepted,  wrote 
a  declaration,  denying  that  Mr.  Randolph  had  ever  indicated 
a  willingness  to  receive  money  for  personal  objects,  and 
affirming  that  he  had  no  intention  to  say  anything  in  his 
letter  to  his  government  to  the  disadvantage  of  Mr.  Ran¬ 
dolph’s  character.* 

Mr.  Randolph  now  set  to  work  to  prepare  a  pamphlet  in 
explanation  of  his  conduct,  intimating  to  his  friends  that,  in 
the  course  of  his  vindication,  he  would  bring  things  to  view 
which  would  afflict  Washington  more  than  anything  which 
had  yet  appeared,  f 

While  thus  occupied  he  addressed  several  notes  to  Wash¬ 
ington,  requiring  information  on  various  points,  and  received 
concise  answers  to  all  his  queries. 

On  one  occasion,  where  he  had  required  a  particular 
paper,  he  published  in  the  “Gazette”  an  extract  from  his 
note  to  W ashington ;  as  if  fearing  the  request  might  be  de¬ 
nied,  lest  the  paper  in  question  should  lay  open  many  confi¬ 
dential  and  delicate  matters. 

In  reply,  Washington  writes:  “That  you  may  have  no 
cause  to  complain  of  the  withholding  of  any  paper,  however 
private  and  confidential,  which  you  shall  think  necessary  in 
a  case  of  so  serious  a  nature,  I  have  directed  that  you  should 
have  the  inspection  of  my  letter  of  the  22d  of  July,  agree¬ 
ably  to  your  request,  and  you  are  at  full  liberty  to  publish, 
without  reserve,  any  and  every  private  and  confidential  let¬ 
ter  I  ever  wrote  to  you ;  nay,  more,  every  word  I  ever  ut¬ 
tered  to  you  or  in  your  hearing,  from  whence  you  can  derive 


*  Sparks’  Writings  of  Washington,  xi.  90. 
f  Idem.,  xi.  89. 


330 


U/orKs  of  U/as^ii>^tOQ  ]ruir?$ 


any  advantage  in  your  vindication.  I  grant  this  permission, 
inasmuch  as  the  extract  alluded  to  manifestly  tends  to  im¬ 
press  on  the  public  an  opinion  that  something  was  passed 
between  us,  which  you  should  disclose  with  reluctance,  from 
motives  of  delicacy  with  respect  to  me.  .  .  .  That  public 
will  judge,  when  it  comes  to  see  your  vindication,  how  far 
and  how  proper  it  has  been  for  you  to  publish  private  and 
confidential  communications  which  oftentimes  have  been 
written  in  a  hurry,  and  sometimes  without  even  copies  be¬ 
ing  taken ;  and  it  will,  I  hope,  appreciate  my  motives,  even 
if  it  should  condemn  my  prudence,  in  allowing  you  the  un¬ 
limited  license  herein  contained.” 

The  mprit  of  this  unlimited  license  will  be  properly  un¬ 
derstood  when  it  is  known  that  at  this  time  Washington  was 
becoming  more  and  more  the  object  of  the  malignant  attacks 
of  the  press.  The  ratification  of  the  treaty  had  opened  the 
vials  of  party  wrath  against  him.  “His  military  and  polit¬ 
ical  character,”  we  are  told,  “was  attacked  with  equal  vio¬ 
lence,  and  it  was  averred  that  he  was  totally  destitute  of 
merit,  either  as  a  soldier  or  a  statesman.  He  was  charged 
with  having  violated  the  constitution,  in  negotiating  a  treaty 
without  the  previous  advice  of  the  Senate,  and  that  he  had 
embraced  within  that  treaty  subjects  belonging  exclusively 
to  the  legislature,  for  which  an  impeachment  was  publicly 
suggested.  Nay  more,  it  was  asserted  that  he  had  drawn 
from  the  treasury,  for  his  private  use,  more  than  the  salary 
annexed  to  his  office.”  * 

This  last  charge,  so  incompatible  with  the  whole  char¬ 
acter  and  conduct  of  Washington,  was  fully  refuted  by  the 
late  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  who  explained  that  the  Presi- 


*  See  Marshall’s  Washington,  vol.  ii.,  p.  370. 


Cife  of  U/asfyii^top 


331 


dent  never  himself  touched  any  part  of  the  compensation  at¬ 
tached  to  his  office,  but  that  the  whole  was  received  and  dis¬ 
bursed  by  the  gentleman  who  superintended  the  expenses  of 
his  household.  That  the  expenses  at  some  times  exceeded, 
and  at  other  times  fell  short  of  the  quarter’s  allowance ;  but 
that  the  aggregate  fell  within  the  allowance  for  the  year. 

At  this  time  the  General  Assembly  of  Maryland  made  a 
unanimous  resolution  to  the  following  effect:  that  “ observ¬ 
ing  with  deep  concern  a  series  of  efforts,  by  indirect  insinua  • 
tion  or  open  invective,  to  detach  from  the  first  magistrate  of 
the  Union  the  well-earned  confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens; 
they  think  it  their  duty  to  declare,  and  they  do  hereby  de¬ 
clare,  their  unabated  reliance  on  the  integrity ,  judgment 
and  patriotism  of  the  President  of  the  United  States.” 

In  a  reply  to  the  Governor  of  Maryland,  "W  ashington  ob¬ 
served:  “At  anytime  the  expression  of  such  a  sentiment 
would  have  been  considered  as  highly  honorable  and  flatter¬ 
ing.  At  the  present,  when  the  voice  of  malignancy  is  so 
high-toned,  and  no  attempts  are  left  unessayed  to  destroy  all 
confidence  in  the  constituted  authorities  of  this  country,  it  is 
peculiarly  grateful  to  my  sensibility.  .  .  . 

“I  have  long  since  resolved,  for  the  present  time  at  least, 
to  let  my  calumniators  proceed  without  any  notice  being 
taken  of  their  invectives  by  myself,  or  by  any  others,  with 
my  participation  or  knowledge.  Their  views,  I  daresay,  are 
readily  perceived  by  all  the  enlightened  and  well-disposed 
part  of  the  community;  and  by  the  records  of  my  adminis¬ 
tration,  and  not  by  the  voice  of  faction,  I  expect  to  be 
acquitted  or  condemned  hereafter.” 

The  vindication  which  Mr.  Randolph  had  been  preparing 
appeared  in  December.  In  this  he  gave  a  narrative  of  the 
principal  events  relating  to  the  case,  his  correspondence  with 


332 


U/or^s  of  U/as^ip^toi)  Irvip<$ 


the  President,  and  the  whole  of  the  French  minister’s  letter. 
He  endeavored  to  explain  those  parts  of  the  letter  which  had 
brought  the  purity  of  his  conduct  in  question ;  but,  as  has 
been  observed,  “he  had  a  difficult  task  to  perform,  as  he  was 
obliged  to  prove  a  negative,  and  to  explain  vague  expressions 
and  insinuations  connected  with  his  name  in  Fauchet’s  let¬ 
ter.”  * 

Fauchet  himself  furnished  the  best  vindication  in  his  cer¬ 
tificate  above  mentioned ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  reconcile  his 
certificate  with  the  language  of  his  official  letter  to  his  gov¬ 
ernment.  We  are  rather  inclined  to  attribute  to  miscon¬ 
ceptions  and  hasty  inferences  of  the  French  minister  the 
construction  put  by  him,  in  his  letter,  on  the  conversation 
he  had  held  with  Mr.  Randolph. 

The  latter  injured  his  cause  by  the  imbittered  feelings 
manifested  in  his  vindication,  and  the  asperity  with  which 
he  spoke  of  Washington  there  and  elsewhere.  He  deeply 
regretted  it  in  after  life,  and  in  a  letter  to  the  Hon.  Bushrod 
Washington,  written  in  1810,  he  says:  “I  do  not  retain  the 
smallest  degree  of  that  feeling  which  roused  me  fifteen  years 
ago  against  some  individuals.  ...  If  I  could  now  present 
myself  before  your  venerated  uncle,  it  would  be  my  pride  to 
confess  my  contrition  that  I  suffered  my  irritation,  let  the 
cause  be  what  it  might,  to  use  some  of  those  expressions  re¬ 
specting  him  which,  at  this  moment  of  indifference  to  the 
ideas  of  the  world,  I  wish  to  recall,  as  being  inconsistent 
with  my  subsequent  conviction.  My  life  will,  I  hope,  be 
sufficiently  extended  for  the  recording  of  my  sincere  opinion 
of  his  virtues  and  merit,  in  a  style  which  is  not  the  result 
of  a  mind  merely  debilitated  by  misfortune,  but  of  that 


* 


Note  of  Mr.  Sparks.  Washington’s  Writings,  xi.  90. 


Cife  of  U/asfyip^toi)  333 

Christian  philosophy  on  which  alone  I  depend  for  inward 
tranquillity.”  * 

After  a  considerable  interval  from  the  resignation  of  Ran¬ 
dolph,  Colonel  Pickering  was  transferred  to  the  Department 
of  State,  and  Mr.  James  McHenry  was  appointed  Secretary 
of  War.  The  office  of  Attorney-general  becoming  vacant 
by  the  death  of  Mr.  Bradford,  was  offered  to  Mr.  Charles 
Lee,  of  Virginia,  and  accepted  by  him  on  the  last  day  of 
November. 

♦ 

During  the  late  agitations,  George  W ashington  Lafayette, 
the  son  of  the  general,  had  arrived  at  Boston  under  the  name 
of  Motier,  accompanied  by  his  tutor,  M.  Frestel,  and  had 
written  to  Washington  apprising  him  of  his  arrival.  It  was 
an  embarrassing  moment  to  Washington.  The  letter  excited 
his  deepest  sensibility,  bringing  with  it  recollections  of  La¬ 
fayette^  merits,  services  and  sufferings,  and  of  their  past 
friendship,  and  he  resolved  to  become  “father,  friend,  pro¬ 
tector  and  supporter”  to  his  son.  But  he  must  proceed  with 
caution ;  on  account  of  his  own  official  character  as  Execu¬ 
tive  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  position  of  Lafayette  in 
regard  to  the  French  government.  Caution,  also,  was  nec¬ 
essary,  not  to  endanger  the  situation  of  the  young  man  him¬ 
self,  and  of  his  mother  and  friends  whom  he  had  left  behind. 
Philadelphia  would  not  be  an  advisable  residence  for  him  at 
present,  until  it  was  seen  what  opinions  would  be  excited  by 
his  arrival ;  as  W ashington  would  for  some  time  be  absent 
from  the  seat  of  government,  while  all  the  foreign  function¬ 
aries  were  residing  there,  particularly  those  of  his  own  na¬ 
tion.  Washington  suggested,  therefore,  that  he  should  enter 


*  Marshall’s  Life  of  Washington,  2d  edition,  vol.  ii., 
note  xx. 


334 


U/or^g  of  U/as^if^tor)  Irvir?<$ 


for  the  present  as  a  student  at  the  University  in  Cambridge, 
Massachusetts,  and  engaged  to  pay  all  the  expenses  for  the 
residence  there  of  himself  and  his  tutor.  These  and  other 
suggestions  were  made  in  a  private  and  confidential  letter  to 
Mr.  George  Cabot,  of  Boston,  Senator  of  the  United  States, 
whose  kind  services  he  enlisted  in  the  matter. 

It  was  subsequently  thought  best  that  young  Lafayette 
should  proceed  to  New  York,  and  remain  in  retirement,  at 
the  country  house  of  a  friend  in  its  vicinity,  pursuing  his 
studies  with  his  tutor,  until  "Washington  should  direct 
otherwise. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-NINE 

Meeting  of  Congress — Washington’s  Official  Summary  of  the 
Events  of  the  Year — Cordial  Response  of  the  Senate — Partial 
Demur  of  the  House — Washington’s  Position  and  Feelings 
with  regard  to  England,  as  shown  by  himself — Mr.  Adet  pre¬ 
sents  the  Colors  of  France — The  Treaty  returned — Proceedings 
thereupon — Thomas  Pinckney  resigns  as  Minister  at  London — 
Rufus  King  appointed  in  his  place — Washington’s  View  of  the 
Political  Campaign — Jefferson’s  Fears  of  an  Attempt  to  sow 
Dissension  between  him  and  Washington — Mr.  Monroe  recalled, 
and  C.  C.  Pinckney  appointed  in  his  Stead — Resentful  Policy  of 
France 

In  his  speech  at  the  opening  of  the  session  of  Congress  in 
December,  Washington  presented  a  cheerful  summary  of  the 
events  of  the  year.  ‘  ‘  I  trust  I  do  not  deceive  myself,  ’  ’  said 
he,  “while  I  indulge  the  persuasion  that  I  have  never  met 
you  at  any  period  when,  more  than  at  present,  the  situation 
of  our  public  affairs  has  afforded  just  cause  for  mutual  con¬ 
gratulation,  and  for  inviting  you  to  join  with  me  in  profound 
gratitude  to  the  Author  of  all  good,  for  the  numerous  and 
extraordinary  blessings  we  enjoy.” 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii}$t09 


335 


And  first  he  announced  that  a  treaty  had  been  concluded 
provisionally,  by  General  Wayne,  with  the  Indians  north¬ 
west  of  the  Ohio,  by  which  the  termination  of  the  long,  ex¬ 
pensive  and  distressing  war  with  those  tribes  was  placed  at 
the  option  of  the  United  States.  “In  the  adjustment  of  the 
terms,”  said  he,  “the  satisfaction  of  the  Indians  was  deemed 
an  object  worthy  no  less  of  the  policy  than  of  the  liberality 
of  the  United  States,  as  the  necessary  basis  of  durable  tran¬ 
quillity.  This  object,  it  is  believed,  has  been  fully  attained. 
The  articles  agreed  upon  will  immediately  be  laid  before  the 
Senate,  for  their  consideration.”  * 

A  letter  from  the  Emperor  of  Morocco,  recognizing  a 
treaty  which  had  been  made  with  his  deceased  father,  in¬ 
sured  the  continuance  of  peace  with  that  power. 

The  terms  of  a  treaty  with  the  Dey  and  regency  of  Al¬ 
giers  had  been  adjusted  in  a  manner  to  authorize  the  ex¬ 
pectation  of  a  speedy  peace  in  that  quarter,  and  the  liberation 
of  a  number  of  American  citizens  from  a  long  and  grievous 
captivity. 

A  speedy  and  satisfactory  conclusion  was  anticipated  of 
a  negotiation  with  the  court  of  Madrid,  “which  would  lay 
the  foundation  of  lasting  harmony  with  a  power  whose 
friendship,”  said  Washington,  “we  have  uniformly  and 
sincerely  desired  to  cherish.” 

Adverting  to  the  treaty  with  Great  Britain  and  its  con¬ 
ditional  ratification,  the  result  on  the  part  of  his  Britannic 
Majesty  was  yet  unknown,  but  when  ascertained  would  im¬ 
mediately  be  placed  before  Congress. 

*  These  preliminary  articles  were  confirmed  by  a  defini¬ 
tive  treaty  concluded  on  the  7th  of  August.  Wayne  received 
high  testimonials  of  approbation  both  from  Congress  and  the 
President,  and  made  a  kind  of  triumphal  entry  into  Phila¬ 
delphia  amid  the  enthusiastic  acclamations  of  the  people. 


336 


U/or^s  of  \lf as\)ir)$toT)  Iruii}<$ 


“In  regard  to  internal  affairs,  every  part  of  the  Union 
gave  indications  of  rapid  and  various  improvement.  With 
burdens  so  light  as  scarcely  to  be  perceived ;  with  resources 
fully  adequate  to  present  exigencies;  with  governments 
founded  on  the  genuine  principles  of  rational  liberty;  and 
with  mild  and  wholesome  laws,  was  it  too  much  to  say  that 
our  country  exhibited  a  spectacle  of  national  happiness  never 
surpassed,  if  ever  before  equaled?” 

In  regard  to  the  late  insurrection :  “The  misled,”  observed 
he,  “have  abandoned  their  errors,  and  pay  the  respect  to 
our  constitution  and  laws  which  is  due  from  good  citizens 
to  the  public  authorities.  These  circumstances  have  induced 
me  to  pardon  generally  the  offenders  here  referred  to,  and 
to  extend  forgiveness  to  those  who  had  been  adjudged  to 
capital  punishment.” 

After  recommending  several  objects  to  the  attention  of 
both  Houses,  he  concludes  by  advising  temperate  discussion 
and  mutual  forbearance  wherever  there  was  a  difference  of 
opinion;  advice  sage  and  salutary  on  all  occasions,  but  par¬ 
ticularly  called  for  by  the  excited  temper  of  the  times. 

There  was,  as  usual,  a  cordial  answer  from  the  Senate; 
but,  in  the  present  House  of  Representatives,  as  in  the  last 
one,  the  opposition  were  in  the  majority.  In  the  response 
reported  by  a  committee,  one  clause  expressing  undiminished 
confidence  in  the  chief  magistrate  was  demurred  to;  some 
members  affirmed  that,  with  them,  it  had  been  considerably 
diminished  by  a  late  transaction.  After  a  warm  altercation, 
to  avoid  a  direct  vote,  the  response  was  recommitted,  and 
the  clause  objected  to  modified.  The  following  is  the  form 
adopted :  “  In  contemplating  that  spectacle  of  national  happi¬ 
ness  which  our  country  exhibits,  and  of  which  you,  sir,  have 
been  pleased  to  make  an  interesting  summary,  permit  us  to 


Cife  of  U/asl?ir>^tor> 


337 


acknowledge  and  declare  the  very  great  share  which  your 

% 

zealous  and  faithful  services  have  contributed  to  it,  and  to 
express  the  affectionate  attachment  which  we  feel  for  your 
character.” 

The  feelings  and  position  of  Washington  with  regard 
to  England  at  this  juncture,  may  be  judged  from  a  letter 
dated  December  22d,  to  Gouverneur  Morris,  then  in  London, 
and  who  was  in  occasional  communication  with  Lord  Gren¬ 
ville.  Washington  gives  a  detail  of  the  various  causes  of 
complaint  against  the  British  government  which  were  rank¬ 
ling  in  the  minds  of  the  American  people,  and  which  Morris 
was  to  mention,  unofficially,  should  he  converse  with  Lord 
Grenville  on  the  subject.  “I  give  you  these  details,”  writes 
he,  “as  evidences  of  the  impolitic  conduct  of  the  British  gov¬ 
ernment  toward  these  United  States;  that  it  may  be  seen 
how  difficult  it  has  been  for  the  Executive,  under  such  an 
accumulation  of  irritating  circumstances,  to  maintain  the 
ground  of  neutrality  which  had  been  taken ;  and  at  a  time 
when  the  remembrance  of  the  aid  we  have  received  from 
France  in  the  Revolution  was  fresh  in  every  mind,  and 
while  the  partisans  of  that  country  were  continually  con¬ 
trasting  the  affections  of  that  people  with  the  unfriendly 
disposition  of  the  British  government.  And  that,  too, 
while  their  own  sufferings,  during  the  war  with  the  latter, 
had  not  been  forgotten. 

“It  is  well  known  that  peace  has  been  (to  borrow  a  mod¬ 
ern  phrase)  the  order  of  the  day  with  me,  since  the  disturb¬ 
ances  in  Europe  first  commenced.  My  policy  has  been,  and 
will  continue  to  be,  while  I  have  the  honor  to  remain  in  the 
administration,  to  maintain  friendly  terms  with,  but  be  inde¬ 
pendent  of,  all  the  nations  of  the  earth;  to  share  in  the  broils 

of  none;  to  fulfill  our  own  engagements;  to  supply  the  wants 

Vol.  XV.— *  *  *  15 


338 


U/or^s  of  U/asfyir)$toi}  Iruii}$ 


and  be  carriers  for  them  all.  .  .  .  Nothing  short  of  self- 

respect,  and  that  justice  which  is  essential  to  a  national 

/ 

character,  ought  to  involve  us  in  war. 

«••••••• 

“By  a  firm  adherence  to  these  principles,  and  to  the 
neutral  policy  which  has  been  adopted,  I  have  brought  on 
myself  a  torrent  of  abuse  in  the  factious  papers  of  this 
country,  and  from  the  enmity  of  the  discontented  of  all  de¬ 
scriptions.  But  having  no  sinister  objects  in  view,  I  shall 
not  be  diverted  from  my  course  by  these,  nor  any  attempts 
which  are,  or  shall  be,  made  to  withdraw  the  confidence  of 
my  constituents  from  me.  I  have  nothing  to  ask ;  and,  dis¬ 
charging  my  duty,  I  have  nothing  to  fear  from  invective. 
The  acts  of  my  administration  will  appear  when  I  am  no 
more,  and  the  intelligent  and  candid  part  of  mankind  will 
not  condemn  my  conduct  without  recurring  to  them.” 

The  first  day  of  January,  being  “a  day  of  general  joy 
and  congratulation,”  had  been  appointed  by  Washington 
to  receive  the  colors  of  France  sent  out  by  the  Committee 
of  Safety.  On  that  day  they  were  presented  by  Mr.  Adet 
with  an  address,  representing,  in  glowing  language,  the 
position  of  France,  “struggling  not  only  for  her  own  liberty, 
but  for  that  of  the  human  race.  Assimilated  to,  or  rather 
identified  with,  free  people  by  the  form  of  her  government, 
she  saw  in  them  only  friends  and  brothers.  Long  accus¬ 
tomed  to  regard  the  American  people  as  her  most  faithful 
allies,  she  sought  to  draw  closer  the  ties  already  formed  in 
the  fields  of  America,  under  the  auspices  of  victory,  over 
the  ruins  of  tyranny.” 

Washington  received  the  colors  with  lively  sensibility  and 
a  brief  reply,  expressive  of  the  deep  solicitude  and  high  ad¬ 
miration  produced  by  the  events  of  the  French  struggle,  and 


Cife  of  U/asl/iQ^tOQ 


339 


his  joy  that  the  interesting  revolutionary  movements  of  so 
many  years  had  issued  in  the  formation  of  a  constitu¬ 
tion  designed  to  give  permanency  to  the  great  object 
contended  for. 

In  February  the  treaty  with  Great  Britain,  as  modified 
by  the  advice  of  the  Senate,  came  back  ratified  by  the  king 
of  Great  Britain,  and  on  the  last  of  the  month  a  proclama¬ 
tion  was  issued  by  the  President,  declaring  it  to  be  the 
supreme  law  of  the  land. 

The  opposition  in  the  House  of  Representatives  were 
offended  that  Washington  should  issue  this  proclamation 
before  the  sense  of  that  body  had  been  taken  on  the  subject, 
and  denied  the  power  of  the  President  and  Senate  to  com¬ 
plete  a  treaty  without  its  sanction.  They  were  bent  on 
defeating  it  by  refusing  to  pass  the  laws  necessary  to  carry 
it  into  effect;  and,  as  a  preliminary,  passed  a  resolution 
requesting  the  President  to  lay  before  the  House  the  instruc¬ 
tion  to  Mr.  Jay,  and  the  correspondence  and  other  documents 
relative  to  the  treaty. 

Washington,  believing  that  these  papers  could  not  be 
constitutionally  demanded,  resolved,  he  said,  from  the  first 
moment,  and  from  the  fullest  conviction  of  his  mind,  to 
resist  the  principle ,  which  was  evidently  intended  to  be 
established  by  the  call  of  the  House;  he  only  deliberated 
on  the  manner  in  which  this  could  be  done  with  the  least 
bad  consequences. 

After  mature  deliberation  and  with  the  assistance  of  the 
heads  of  departments  and  the  Attorney-general,  he  prepared 
and  sent  in  to  the  House  an  answer  to  their  request.  In  this 
he  dwelt  upon  the  necessity  of  caution  and  secrecy  in  foreign 
negotiations,  as  one  cogent  reason  for  vesting  the  power  of 
making  treaties  in  the  President,  with  the  advice  and  con- 


340 


U/or^s  of  U/asbip^toi)  Iruip^ 


sent  of  the  Senate,  the  principle  on  which  that  body  was 
formed  confining  it  to  a  small  number  of  members. 

To  admit  a  right  in  the  House  of  Representatives  to 
demand  and  have  all  the  papers  respecting  a  foreign  ne¬ 
gotiation  would,  he  observed,  be  to  establish  a  dangerous 
precedent. 

“It  did  not  occur  to  him,”  he  added,  “that  the  inspection 
of  the  papers  called  for  could  be  relative  to  any  purpose 
under  the  cognizance  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  except 
that  of  an  impeachment,  which  the  resolution  had  not  ex¬ 
pressed.  He  had  no  disposition  to  withhold  any  information 
which  the  duty  of  his  station  would  permit,  or  the  public 
good  should  require  to  be  disclosed;  and,  in  fact,  all  the 
papers  affecting  the  negotiation  with  Great  Britain  had  been 
laid  before  the  Senate,  when  the  treaty  itself  had  been  com¬ 
municated  for  their  consideration  and  advice.” 

After  various  further  remarks,  he  concludes:  “As,  there¬ 
fore,  it  is  perfectly  clear  to  my  understanding  that  the  assent 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  is  not  necessary  to  the  va¬ 
lidity  of  a  treaty ;  as  the  treaty  with  Great  Britain  exhibits 
itself  in  all  the  objects  requiring  legislative  provision;  and 
on  these  the  papers  called  for  can  throw  no  light;  and  as 
it  is  essential  to  the  due  administration  of  the  government 
that  the  boundaries  fixed  by  the  constitution  between  the 
different  departments  should  be  observed,  a  just  regard  to 
the  constitution  and  to  the  duty  of  my  office,  under  all  the 
circumstances  of  this  case,  forbid  a  compliance  with  your 
request.  ’  * 

A  resolution  to  make  provision  for  carrying  the  treaty 
into  effect  gave  rise  to  an  animated  and  protracted  debate. 
Meanwhile,  the  whole  country  became  agitated  on  the  sub¬ 
ject;  meetings  were  held  throughout  the  United  States,  and 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii}<$toi) 


341 


it  soon  became  apparent  that  the  popular  feeling  was  with 
the  minority  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  who  favored 
the  making  of  the  necessary  appropriations.  The  public  will 
prevailed,  and,  on  the  last  day  of  April,  the  resolution  was 
passed,  though  by  a  close  vote  of  fifty-one  to  forty-eight. 

For  some  months  past,  Mr.  Thomas  Pinckney  had  been 
solicitous  to  be  relieved  from  his  post  of  Minister  Plenipoten¬ 
tiary  at  London,  but  the  doubtful  issue  of  the  above  dispute, 
and  the  difficulty  of  finding  a  fit  substitute  for  him,  had 
caused  delay  in  the  matter ;  for,  as  Mr.  Hamilton  observed : 
‘ c  The  importance,  to  our  security  and  commerce,  of  a  good 
understanding  with  Great  Britain,  rendered  it  very  impor¬ 
tant  that  a  man  able,  and  not  disagreeable  to  that  govern¬ 
ment,  should  be  there.”  Such  a  man  at  length  presented 
in  Mr.  Rufus  King,  of  Hew  York.  He  had  vindicated  the 
treaty  with  his  pen  in  part  of  a  series  of  papers  signed  Camil- 
lus ;  he  had  defended  it  by  his  manly  and  brilliant  eloquence 
in  the  Senate ;  he  was  now  about  to  quit  his  seat  in  that 
body.  Hamilton,  who  knew  him  well,  struck  off  his  char¬ 
acter  admirably  in  a  letter  to  the  President.  “Mr.  King,” 
writes  he,  “is  a  remarkably  well-informed  man,  a  very 
judicious  one,  a  man  of  address,  a  man  of  fortune  and  econ¬ 
omy,  whose  situation  affords  just  grounds  of  confidence;  a 
man  of  unimpeachable  probity  where  he  is  known,  a  firm 
friend  of  the  government,  a  supporter  of  the  measures  of 
the  President ;  a  man  who  cannot  but  feel  that  he  has  strong 
pretensions  to  confidence  and  trust.” 

Mr.  King  was  nominated  to  the  Senate  on  the  19th  of 
May,  and  his  nomination  was  confirmed.  On  the  1st  of  June, 
this  session  of  Congress  terminated. 

On  the  12th  of  that  month  Washington,  in  a  letter  to 
Colonel  Humphreys,  then  in  Portugal,  speaks  of  the  recent 


342 


U/orks  of  U/asl^ip^top  Iruip<$ 


political  campaign:  “The  gazettes  will  give  you  a  pretty 
good  idea  of  the  state  of  politics  and  parties  in  this  country, 
and  will  show  you,  at  the  same  time,  if  Bache’s  ‘Aurora’ 
is  among  them,  in  what  manner  I  am  attacked  for  perse¬ 
vering  steadily  in  measures  which,  to  me,  appear  necessary 
to  preserve  us,  during  the  conflicts  of  belligerent  powers,  in 
a  state  of  tranquillity.  But  these  attacks,  unjust  and  un¬ 
pleasant  as  they  are,  will  occasion  no  change  in  my  conduct, 
nor  will  they  produce  any  other  effect  in  my  mind  than 
to  increase  the  solicitude  which  long  since  has  taken  fast 
hold  of  my  heart,  to  enjoy,  in  the  shades  of  retirement,  the 
consolation  of  believing  that  I  have  rendered  to  my  country 
every  service  to  which  my  abilities  were  competent — not 
from  pecuniary  or  ambitious  motives,  nor  from  a  desire  to 
provide  for  any  men,  further  than  their  intrinsic  merit 
entitled  them,  and  surely  not  with  a  view  of  bringing  my 
own  relations  into  office.  Malignity,  therefore,  may  dart 
its  shafts,  but  no  earthly  power  can  deprive  me  of  the  satis¬ 
faction  of  knowing  that  I  have  not,  in  the  whole  course  of 
my  administration,  committed  an  intentional  error.” 

On  the  same  day  (June  12th)  Jefferson,  writing  from  his 
retirement  at  Monticello,  to  Mr.  Monroe  in  Paris,  showed 
himself  sensitive  to  the  influence  of  Washington’s  great 
popularity  in  countervailing  party  schemes.  “Congress  have 
risen,”  writes  he.  “You  will  have  seen  by  their  proceedings 
the  truth  of  what  I  always  observed  to  you,  that  one  man 
outweighs  them  all  in  the  influence  over  the  people,  who 
have  supported  his  judgment  against  their  own  and  that  of 
their  representatives.  Republicanism  must  lie  on  its  oars, 
resign  the  vessel  to  its  pilot,  and  themselves  to  what  course 
he  thinks  best  for  them.” 

In  Bache’s  “Aurora”  of  June  9,  an  anonymous  article 


Cife  of  U/asfyir^toi} 


343 


had  appeared,  disclosing  queries  propounded  by  Washington, 
in  strict  confidence,  to  the  members  of  the  cabinet,  in  1793, 
as  to  the  conduct  to  be  observed  in  reference  to  England  and 
France.  As  soon  as  Jefferson  saw  this  article  he  wrote  to 
Washington  (June  19th),  disclaiming  his  having  had  any 
concern  in  that  breach  of  official  trust.  “I  have  formerly 
mentioned  to  you,”  observed  he,  “that  from  a  very  early 
period  of  my  life  I  had  laid  it  down  as  a  rule  of  conduct 
never  to  write  a  word  for  the  public  papers.  From  this 
I  have  never  departed  in  a  single  instance.” 

Jefferson  further  intimates  a  suspicion  that  a  third  party 
had  been  endeavoring  to  sow  tares  between  him  and  W  ash- 
ington,  by  representing  him  (Jefferson)  as  still  engaged  in 
the  bustle  of  politics,  and  in  turbulence  and  intrigue  against 
the  government. 

This  drew  forth  a  noble  reply  from  Washington.  “If 
I  had  entertained  any  suspicion  before,”  writes  he,  “that 
the  queries,  which  have  been  published  in  Bache’s  paper, 
proceeded  from  you,  the  assurances  you  have  given  me  of 
the  contrary  would  have  removed  them;  but  the  truth  is, 
I  harbored  none.  .  .  . 

“As  you  have  mentioned  the  subject  yourself,  it  would 
not  be  frank,  candid  or  friendly  to  conceal  that  your  conduct 
has  been  represented  as  derogating  from  that  opinion  I  had 
conceived  you  entertained  of  me;  that  to  your  particular 
friends  and  connections  you  have  described,  and  they  have 
denounced  me  as  a  person  under  a  dangerous  influence ;  and 
that,  if  I  would  listen  more  to  some  other  opinions,  all  would 
be  well.  My  answer  invariably  has  been  that  I  had  never 
discovered  anything  in  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Jefferson  to  raise 
suspicions  in  my  mind  of  his  insincerity ;  that,  if  he  would 
retrace  my  public  conduct  while  he  was  in  the  administra- 


344 


U/orks  of  U/asbir^too  Iruir><$ 


tion,  abundant  proofs  would  occur  to  him  that  truth  and 
right  decisions  were  the  sole  object  of  my  pursuit;  that  there 
were  as  many  instances  within  his  own  knowledge  of  my 
having  decided  against  as  in  favor  of  the  opinions  of  the 
person  evidently  alluded  to;  and,  moreover,  that  I  was  no 
believer  in  the  infallibility  of  the  politics  or  measures  of  any 
man  living.  In  short,  that  I  was  no  party  man  myself,  and 
that  the  first  wish  of  my  heart  was,  if  parties  did  exist,  to 
reconcile  them. 

“To  this  I  may  add,  and  very  truly,  that,  until  within 
the  last  year  or  two,  I  had  no  conception  that  parties  would 
or  even  could  go  the  length  I  have  been  witness  to;  nor  did 
I  believe  until  lately  that  it  was  within  the  bounds  of  proba¬ 
bility,  hardly  within  those  of  possibility,  that,  while  I  was 
using  my  utmost  exertions  to  establish  a  national  character 
of  our  own,  independent,  as  far  as  our  obligations  and  justice 
would  permit,  of  every  nation  of  the  earth,  and  wished,  by 
steering  a  steady  course,  to  preserve  this  country  from  the 
horrors  of  a  desolating  war,  I  should  be  accused  of  being 
the  enemy  of  one  nation,  and  subject  to  the  influence  of 
another;  and,  to  prove  it,  that  every  act  of  my  administra¬ 
tion  would  be  tortured,  and  the  grossest  and  most  insidious 
misrepresentations  of  them  be  made,  by  giving  one  side  only 
of  a  subject,  and  that,  too,  in  such  exaggerated  and  indecent 
terms  as  could  scarcely  be  applied  to  a  Nero,  a  notorious 
defaulter,  or  even  to  a  common  pickpocket.  But  enough 
of  this;  I  have  already  gone  further  in  the- expression  of  my 
feelings  than  I  intended.” 

Shortly  after  the  recess  of  Congress  another  change  was 
made  in  the  foreign  diplomacy. 

Mr.  Monroe,  when  sent  envoy  to  France,  had  been  es¬ 
pecially  instructed  to  explain  the  views  and  conduct  of  the 


Cife  of  U/asfyir^toi} 


345 


United  States  in  forming  the  treaty  with  England;  and  he 
had  been  amply  furnished  with  documents  for  the  purpose. 
From  his  own  letters,  however,  it  appeared  that  he  had 
omitted  to  use  them.  Whether  this  rose  from  undue  attach¬ 
ment  to  France,  from  mistaken  notions  of  American  inter¬ 
ests,  or  from  real  dislike  to  the  treaty,  the  result  was  the 
very  evil  he  had  been  instructed  to  prevent.  The  French 
government  misconceived  the  views  and  conduct  of  the 
United  States,  suspected  their  policy  in  regard  to  Great 
Britain,  and  when  aware  that  the  House  of  Representatives 
would  execute  the  treaty  made  by  Jay,  became  bitter  in 
their  resentment.  Symptoms  of  this  appeared  in  the  cap¬ 
ture  of  an  American  merchantman  by  a  French  privateer. 
Under  these  circumstances  it  was  deemed  expedient  by 
Washington  and  his  cabinet  to  recall  Mr.  Monroe,  and 
appoint  another  American  citizen  in  his  stead. 

The  person  chosen  was  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney 
of  South  Carolina,  elder  brother  of  the  late  minister  to 
London.  Directly  after  this  appointment,  which  took  place 
in  July,  dispatches  were  received  from  Mr.  Monroe,  com¬ 
municating  complaints  which  had  been  addressed  to  him, 
against  the  American  government,  by  M.  de  la  Croix, 
French  minister  of  exterior  relations,  and  his  reply  to  the 
same.  His  reply,  though  it  failed  to  change  the  policy  of 
the  French  Directory,  was  deemed  able  and  satisfactory 
by  the  Executive.  Somewhat  later  came  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Monroe,  written  on  the  24th,  by  which  it  appeared  that  the 
long  and  confidential  letter  written  by  Washington  on  De¬ 
cember  2 2d,  and  cited  in  a  previous  page  of  this  chapter, 
had,  by  some  chance,  got  into  the  hands  of  the  French 
Directory,  and  “produced  an  ill  effect.’ ’ 

In  a  reply  to  Monroe,  dated  August  25th,  Washington 


346 


U/orks  of  U/aslpio^top  Iruip<$ 


acknowledged  tlie  authenticity  of  the  letter,  “but  I  deny,’9 
added  he,  “that  there  is  anything  contained  in  it  that  the 
French  government  could  take  exception  to,  unless  the  ex¬ 
pression  of  an  ardent  wish  that  the  United  States  might 
remain  at  peace  with  all  the  world,  taking  no  part  in  the 
disputes  of  any  part  of  it,  should  have  produced  this  effect. 
I  also  gave  it  as  my  opinion  that  the  sentiments  of  the  mass 
of  the  citizens  of  his  country  were  in  unison  with  mine.” 

And  in  conclusion,  he  observes:  “My  conduct  in  public 
and  private  life,  as  it  relates  to  the  important  struggle  in 
which  the  latter  nation  [France]  is  engaged,  has  been  uni¬ 
form  from  the  commencement  of  it,  and  may  be  summed 
up  in  a  few  words.  I  have  always  wished  well  to  the  French 
revolution ;  that  I  have  always  given  it  as  my  decided  opin¬ 
ion  that  no  nation  had  a  right  to  intermeddle  in  the  internal 
concerns  of  another ;  that  every  one  had  a  right  to  form  and 
adopt  whatever  government  they  liked  best  to  live  under 
themselves ;  and  that,  if  this  country  could,  consistently  with 
its  engagements,  maintain  a  strict  neutrality,  and  thereby 
preserve  peace,  it  was  bound  to  do  so  by  motives  of  policy, 
interest,  and  every  other  consideration  that  ought  to  actuate 
a  people  situated  as  we  are,  already  deeply  in  debt  and  in  a 
convalescent  state  from  the  struggle  we  have  been  engaged 
in  ourselves. 

“On  these  principles  I  have  steadily  and  uniformly  pro¬ 
ceeded,  bidding  defiance  to  calumnies  calculated  to  sow  the 
seeds  of  distrust  in  the  French  nation,  and  to  excite  their 
belief  of  an  influence  possessed  by  Great  Britain  in  the  coun¬ 
cils  of  this  country,  than  which  nothing  is  more  unfounded 
and  injurious.”  * 


*  For  the  entire  letter  see  Washington’s  Writings,  xi.  164. 


Cife  of  U/as^ip<$tor7 


347 


Still  the  resentful  policy  of  the  French  continued,  and, 
in  October,  they  issued  an  arret  ordering  the  seizure  of 
British  property  found  on  board  of  American  vessels,  and 
of  provisions  bound  for  England — a  direct  violation  of  their 
treaty  with  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  THIRTY 

Washington’s  Farewell  Address — Meets  the  two  Houses  of  Congress 
for  the  last  Time — His  Speech — Replies  of  the  Senate  and  House 
— Mr.  Giles — Andrew  Jackson — Offensive  Publication  of  the 
French  Minister — John  Adams  declared  President — Washing¬ 
ton’s  Letter  to  Knox  on  the  Eve  of  his  Retirement —The  Spuri¬ 
ous  Letters — His  Farewell  Dinner — John  Adams  takes  the  Oath 
of  Office — Greetings  of  Washington  at  the  close  of  the  Ceremony 

The  period  for  the  presidential  election  was  drawing  near, 
and  great  anxiety  began  to  be  felt  that  Washington  would 
consent  to  stand  for  a  third  term.  No  one,  it  was  agreed, 
had  greater  claim  to  the  enjoyment  of  retirement,  in  consid¬ 
eration  of  public  services  rendered ;  but  it  was  thought  the 
affairs  of  the  country  would  be  in  a  very  precarious  condi¬ 
tion  should  he  retire  before  the  wars  of  Europe  were  brought 
to  a  close. 

Washington,  however,  had  made  up  his  mind  irrevocably 
on  the  subject,  and  resolved  to  announce,  in  a  farewell 
address,  his  intention  of  retiring.  Such  an  instrument,  it 
will  be  recollected,  had  been  prepared  for  him  from  his  own 
notes,  by  Mr.  Madison,  when  he  had  thought  of  retiring 
at  the  end  of  his  first  term.  As  he  was  no  longer  in  confi¬ 
dential  intimacy  with  Mr.  Madison,  he  turned  to  Mr.  Ham¬ 
ilton  as  his  adviser  and  coadjutor,  and  appears  to  have 


348 


U/orl^s  of  U/asJ?io$tor)  Iruir><$ 


consulted  him  on  the  subject  early  in  the  present  year;  for, 
in  a  letter  dated  New  York,  May  10th,  Hamilton  writes: 
“When  last  in  Philadelphia,  you  mentioned  to  me  your  wish 
that  I  should  re-dress  a  certain  paper  which  you  had  pre¬ 
pared.  As  it  is  important  that  a  thing  of  this  kind  should 
he  done  with  great  care  and  at  much  leisure,  touched  and 
retouched,  I  submit  a  wish  that,  as  soon  as  you  have  given 
it  the  body  you  mean  it  to  have,  it  may  be  sent  to  me.” 

The  paper  was  accordingly  sent  on  the  15th  of  May,  in 
its  rough  state,  altered  in  one  part  since  Hamilton  had  seen 
it.  “If  you  should  think  it  best  to  throw  the  whole  into  a 
different  form,”  writes  Washington,  “let  me  request,  not¬ 
withstanding,  that  my  draft  may  be  returned  to  me  (along 
with  yours),  with  such  amendments  and  corrections  as  to 
render  it  as  perfect  as  the  formation  is  susceptible  of ;  cur¬ 
tailed  if  too  verbose,  and  relieved  of  all  tautology  not  neces¬ 
sary  to  enforce  the  ideas  in  the  original  or  quoted  part.  My 
wish  is,  that  the  whole  may  appear  in  a  plain  style;  and 
be  handed  to  the  public  in  an  honest,  unaffected,  simple 
garb.” 

We  forbear  to  go  into  the  vexed  question  concerning  this 
address;  how  much  of  it  is  founded  on  Washington’s  origi¬ 
nal  “notes  and  heads  of  topics”;  how  much  was  elaborated 
by  Madison,  and  how  much  is  due  to  Hamilton’s  recasting 
and  revision.  The  whole  came  under  the  supervision  of 
Washington;  and  the  instrument,  as  submitted  to  the  press, 
was  in  his  handwriting,  with  many  ultimate  corrections  and 
alterations.  Washington  had  no  pride  of  authorship;  his  ob¬ 
ject  always  was  to  effect  the  purpose  in  hand,  and  for  that 
he  occasionally  invoked  assistance,  to  insure  a  plain  and  clear 
exposition  of  his  thoughts  and  intentions.  The  address  cer¬ 
tainly  breathes  his  spirit  throughout,  is  in  perfect  accordance 


Cife  of  \I/asl>ir)<$toi> 


349 


with  his  words  and  actions,  and,  “in  an  honest,  unaffected, 
simple  garb,”  embodies  the  system  of  policy  on  which  he 
had  acted  throughout  his  administration.  It  was  published 
in  September,  in  a  Philadelphia  paper  called  the  “Daily  Ad¬ 
vertiser.”  * 

The  publication  of  the  address  produced  a  great  sensa¬ 
tion.  Several  of  the  State  Legislatures  ordered  it  to  be  put 
on  their  journals. 

“The  President’s  declining  to  be  again  elected,”  writes 
the  elder  Wolcott,  “constitutes  a  most  important  epoch  in 
our  national  affairs.  The  country  meet  the  event  with  re¬ 
luctance,  but  they  do  not  feel  that  they  can  make  any  claim 
for  the  further  services  of  a  man  who  has  conducted  their 
armies  through  a  successful  war;  has  so  largely  contributed 
to  establish  a  national  government;  has  so  long  presided 
over  our  councils  and  directed  the  public  administration,  and 
in  the  most  advantageous  manner  settled  all  national  differ¬ 
ences  ;  and  who  can  leave  the  administration  where  nothing 
but  our  folly  and  internal  discord  can  render  the  country 
otherwise  than  happy.” 

The  address  acted  as  a  notice  to  hush  the  acrimonious 
abuse  of  him  which  the  opposition  was  pouring  forth,  under 
the  idea  that  he  would  be  a  candidate  for  a  renomination. 
“It  will  serve  as  a  signal,  like  the  dropping  of  a  hat,  for  the 
party  racers  to  start,”  writes  Fisher  Ames,  “and  I  expect  a 
great  deal  of  noise,  whipping  and  spurring.” 

Congress  formed  a  quorum  on  the  5th  day  of  December, 
the  first  day  of  the  session  which  succeeded  the  publication 
of  the  Farewell  Address.  On  the  7th,  Washington  met  the 
two  Houses  of  Congress  for  the  last  time. 

*  The  reader  will  find  the  entire  address  in  the  Appendix 
to  this  volume. 


350 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?ir}$toi)  Irvir><$ 


In  his  speech  he  recommended  an  institution  for  .the  im¬ 
provement  of  agriculture,  a  military  academy,  a  national 
university,  and  a  gradual  increase  of  the  navy.  The  dis¬ 
putes  with  France  were  made  the  subject  of  the  following 
remarks:  “While  in  our  external  relations  some  serious  in¬ 
conveniences  and  embarrassments  have  been  overcome  and 
others  lessened,  it  is  with  much  pain  and  deep  regret  I  men¬ 
tion  that  circumstances  of  a  very  unwelcome  nature  have 
lately  occurred.  Our  trade  has  suffered  and  is  suffering 
extensive  injuries  in  the  West  Indies  from  the  cruisers  and 
agents  of  the  French  Republic;  and  communications  have 
been  received  from  its  minister  here  which  indicate  the  dan¬ 
ger  of  a  further  disturbance  of  our  commerce  by  its  author¬ 
ity;  and  which  are  in  other  respects  far  from  agreeable.  It 
has  been  my  constant,  sincere,  and  earnest  wish,  in  conform¬ 
ity  with  that  of  our  nation,  to  maintain  cordial  harmony  and 
a  perfectly  friendly  understanding  with  that  Republic.  This 
wish  remains  unabated;  and  I  shall  persevere  in  the  en¬ 
deavor  to  fulfill  it  to  the  utmost  extent  of  what  shall  be  con¬ 
sistent  with  a  just  and  indispensable  regard  to  the  rights  and 
honor  of  our  country ;  nor  will  I  easily  cease  to  cherish  the 
expectation  that  a  spirit  of  justice,  candor  and  friendship,  on 
the  part  of  the  Republic,  will  eventually  insure  success. 

“In  pursuing  this  course,  however,  I  cannot  forget  what 
is  due  to  the  character  of  our  government  and  nation ;  or  to 
a  full  and  entire  confidence  in  the  good  sense,  patriotism, 
self-respect,  and  fortitude  of  my  countrymen.” 

In  concluding  his  address  he  observes,  “The  situation  in 
which  I  now  stand  for  the  last  time  in  the  midst  of  the  rep¬ 
resentatives  of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  naturally  re¬ 
calls  the  period  when  the  administration  of  the  present  form 
of  government  commenced,  and  I  cannot  omit  the  occasion 


Cife  of  U/asl?ip<$toi} 


351 


to  congratulate  you  and  my  country  on  the  success  of  the 
experiment,  nor  to  repeat  my  fervent  supplications  to  the  Su¬ 
preme  Ruler  of  the  universe  and  Sovereign  Arbiter  of  na¬ 
tions,  that  His  providential  care  may  be  still  extended  to  the 

* 

United  States;  that  the  virtue  and  happiness  of  the  people 
may  be  preserved,  and  that  the  government  which  they  have 
instituted  for  the  protection  of  their  liberties  may  be  per¬ 
petual.” 

The  Senate,  in  their  reply  to  the  address,  after  concur¬ 
ring  in  its  views  of  the  national  prosperity,  as  resulting 
from  the  excellence  of  the  constitutional  system  and  the 
wisdom  of  the  legislative  provisions,  added  that  they 
would  be  deficient  in  gratitude  and  justice  did  they  not 
attribute  a  great  portion  of  these  advantages  to  the  virtue, 
firmness  and  talents  of  his  administration,  conspicuously  dis¬ 
played  in  the  most  trying  times,  and  on  the  most  critical 
occasions. 

Recalling  his  arduous  services,  civil  and  military,  as  well 
during  the  struggles  of  the  Revolution  as  in  the  convulsive 
period  of  a  later  date,  their  warmest  affections  and  anxious 
regards  would  accompany  him  in  his  approaching  retire¬ 
ment. 

“The  most  effectual  consolation  that  can  offer  for  the  loss 
we  are  about  to  sustain  arises  from  the  animating  reflection 
that  the  influence  of  your  example  will  extend  to  your  suc¬ 
cessors,  and  the  United  States  thus  continue  to  enjoy  an 
able,  upright,  and  energetic  administration.” 

The  reply  of  the  House,  after  premising  attention  to  the 
various  subjects  recommended  to  their  consideration  in  the 
address,  concluded  by  a  warm  expression  of  gratitude  and 
admiration,  inspired  by  the  virtues  and  services  of  the  Presi¬ 
dent,  by  his  wisdom,  firmness,  moderation  and  magnanim 


352 


U/orl^s  of  U/as^iQ<$tor)  Iruir>$ 


ity ;  and  testifying  to  the  deep  regret  with  which  they  con¬ 
templated  his  intended  retirement  from  office. 

“May  you  long  enjoy  that  liberty  which  is  so  dear  to  you, 
and  to  which  your  name  will  ever  be  so  dear,”  added  they. 
“May  your  own  virtue  and  a  nation’s  prayers  obtain  the 
happiest  sunshine  for  the  decline  of  your  days,  and  the  choic¬ 
est  of  future  blessings.  For  our  country’s  sake,  and  for  the 
sake  of  republican  liberty,  it  is  our  earnest  wish  that  your 
example  may  be  the  guide  of  your  successors;  and  thus, 
after  being  the  ornament  and  safeguard  of  the  present  age, 
become  the  patrimony  of  our  descendants.” 

Objections,  however,  were  made  to  some  parts  of  the  re- 
ply  by  Mr.  Giles,  of  Virginia.  He  was  for  expunging  such 
parts  as  eulogized  the  present  administration,  spoke  of  the 
wisdom  and  firmness  of  Washington,  and  regretted  his  retir¬ 
ing  from  office.  He  disapproved,  he  said,  of  the  measures 
of  the  administration  with  respect  to  foreign  relations;  he 
believed  its  want  of  wisdom  and  firmness  had  conducted  the 
nation  to  a  crisis  threatening  greater  calamity  than  any  that 
had  before  occurred.  He  did  not  regret  the  President’s  re¬ 
tiring  from  office.  He  believed  the  government  of  the  United 
States  was  founded  on  the  broad  basis  of  the  people,  that 
they  were  competent  to  their  own  government,  and  the  re¬ 
maining  of  no  man  in  office  was  necessary  to  the  success  of 
that  government.  The  people  would  truly  be  in  a  calamitous 
situation  if  one  man  were  essential  to  the  existence  of  the 
government.  He  was  convinced  that  the  United  States  pro¬ 
duces  a  thousand  citizens  capable  of  .filling  the  Presidential 
chair,  and  he  would  trust  to  the  discernment  of  the  people 
for  a  proper  choice.  Though  the  voice  of  all  America  should 
declare  the  President’s  retiring  as  a  calamity,  he  could  not 
join  in  the  declaration,  because  he  did  not  conceive  it  a  mis- 


Cife  of  U/asl?i9<$toi) 


353 


fortune.  He  hoped  the  President  would  be  happy  in  his 
retirement,  and  he  hoped  he  would  retire.* 

Twelve  members  voted  for  expunging  those  parts  of  the 
reply  to  which  Mr.  Giles  had  objected.  Among  the  names 
of  these  members  we  find  that  of  Andrew  Jackson,  a  young 
man,  twenty-nine  years  of  age,  as  yet  unknown  to  fame, 
and  who  had  recently  taken  his  seat  as  delegate  from  the 
newly  admitted  State  of  Tennessee.  The  vote  in  favor  of 
the  whole  reply,  however,  was  overwhelming. 

The  reverence  and  affection  expressed  for  him  in  both 
Houses  of  Congress,  and  their  regret  at  his  intended  retire¬ 
ment,  were  in  unison  with  testimonials  from  various  State 

Legislatures  and  other  public  bodies,  which  were  continually 

# 

arriving  since  the  publication  of  his  Farewell  Address. 

During  the  actual  session  of  Congress,  Washington  en¬ 
deavored  to  prevent  the  misunderstandings,  which  were  in 
danger  of  being  augmented  between  the  United  States  and 
the  French  government.  In  the  preceding  month  of  Novem¬ 
bers,  Mr.  Adet,  the  French  minister,  had  addressed  a  letter 
to  the  Secretary  of  State,  recapitulating  the  complaints 
against  the  government  of  the  United  States  made  by  his 
predecessors  and  himself,  denouncing  the  insidious  procla¬ 
mation  of  neutrality  and  the  wrongs  growing  out  of  it,  and 
using  language  calculated  to  inflame  the  partisans  of  France : 
a  copy  of  which  letter  had  been  sent  to  the  press  for  publica¬ 
tion.  One  of  the  immediate  objects  he  had  in  view,  in  tim¬ 
ing  the  publication,  was  supposed  by  Washington  to  be  to 
produce  an  effect  on  the  Presidential  election;  his  ultimate 
object,  to  establish  such  an  influence  in  the  country  as  to 


*  See  Mr.  Giles’  speech,  as  reported  in  the  “Aurora’* 
newspaper. 


354  U/or^s  of  U/asl?ir}$toi>  IruiQ<$ 

sway  the  government  and  control  its  measures.  Early  in 
January,  1797,  therefore,  Washington  requested  Mr.  Picker¬ 
ing,  the  Secretary  of  State,  to  address  a  letter  to  Mr.  Pinck¬ 
ney,  United  States  minister  to  France,  stating  all  the  com¬ 
plaints  alleged  by  the  French  minister  against  the  government, 
examining  and  reviewing  the  same,  and  accompanying  the 
statement  with  a  collection  of  letters  and  papers  relating  to 
the  transactions  therein  adverted  to. 

“From  a  desire,”  writes  he,  “that  the  statements  be  full, 
fair,  calm,  and  argumentative,  without  asperity  or  anything 
more  irritating  in  the  comments  than  the  narration  of  facts, 
which  expose  unfounded  charges  and  assertions,  does  itself 
produce,  I  have  wished  that  the  letter  to  Mr.  Pinckney  may 
be  revised  over  and  over  again.  Much  depends  upon  it,  as 
it  relates  to  ourselves,  and  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  what¬ 
ever  may  be  the  effect  as  it  respects  the  governing  powers 
of  France.” 

The  letter  to  Mr.  Pinckney,  with  its  accompanying  doc¬ 
uments,  was  laid  before  Congress  on  the  19th  of  January 
(1797),  to  be  transmitted  to  that  minister.  “The  immediate 
object  of  his  mission,”  says  Washington  in  a  special  mes¬ 
sage,  “was  to  make  that  government  such  explanations  of 
the  principles  and  conduct  of  our  own,  as,  by  manifesting 
our  good  faith,  might  remove  all  jealousy  and  discontent, 
and  maintain  that  harmony  and  good  understanding  with 
the  French  Republic  which  it  has  been  my  constant  solici¬ 
tude  to  preserve.  A  government  which  required  only  a 
knowledge  of  the  truth  to  justify  its  measures  could  but 
be  anxious  to  have  this  fully  and  frankly  displayed.” 

In  the  month  of  February  the  votes  taken  at  the  recent 
election  were  opened  and  counted  in  Congress;  when  Mr. 
Adams,  having  the  highest  number,  was  declared  President, 


Cife  of  U/asfyir^toi? 


355 


and  Mr.  Jefferson,  having  the  next  number,  Vice-President; 
their  term  of  four  years  to  commence  on  the  4th  of  March 
next  ensuing. 

Washington  now  began  to  count  the  days  and  hours  that 
intervened  between  him  and  his  retirement.  On  the  day 
preceding  it,  he  writes  to  his  old  fellow-soldier  and  political 
coadjutor,  Henry  Knox:  “To  the  wearied  traveler,  who  sees 
a  resting-place,  and  is  bending  his  body  to  lean  thereon,  I 
now  compare  myself ;  but  to  be  suffered  to  do  this  in  peace 
is  too  much  to  be  endured  by  some.  To  misrepresent  my 
motives,  to  reprobate  my  politics,  and  to  weaken  the  confi¬ 
dence  which  has  been  reposed  in  my  administration,  are  ob¬ 
jects  which  cannot  be  relinquished  by  those  who  will  be  sat¬ 
isfied  with  nothing  short  of  a  change  in  our  political  system. 
The  consolation,  however,  which  results  from  conscious  rec¬ 
titude,  and  the  approving  voice  of  my  country,  unequivocally 
expressed  by  its  representatives,  deprive  their  sting  of  its 
poison,  and  place  in  the  same  point  of  view  both  the  weak¬ 
ness  and  malignity  of  their  efforts. 

“Although  the  prospect  of  retirement  is  most  grateful  to 
my  soul,  and  I  have  not  a  wish  to  mix  again  in  the  great 
world,  or  to  partake  in  its  politics,  yet  I  am  not  without  my 
regrets  at  parting  with  (perhaps  never  more  to  meet)  the  few 
intimates  whom  I  love,  and  among  these,  be  assured,  you 
are  one.  .  .  The  remainder  of  my  life,  which  in  the  course 
of  nature  cannot  be  long,  will  be  occupied  in  rural  amuse¬ 
ments  ;  and  though  I  shall  seclude  myself  as  much  as  pos¬ 
sible  from  the  noisy  and  bustling  world,  none  would,  more 
than  myself,  be  regaled  by  the  company  of  those  I  esteem, 
at  Mount  Vernon;  more  than  twenty  miles  from  which,  after 
I  arrive  there,  it  is  not  likely  that  I  shall  ever  be.” 

On  the  morning  of  the  3d  of  March,  the  last  day  of  his 


356 


U/or^s  of  U/asfyir)<$tor>  Iruip$ 


official  career,  Washington  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Secre¬ 
tary  of  State  on  the  subject  of  the  spurious  letters,  heretofore 
mentioned,*  first  published  by  the  British  in  1776,  and  sub¬ 
sequently  republished  during  his  administration,  by  some  of 
his  political  enemies.  He  had  suffered  every  attack  on  his 
executive  conduct  to  pass  unnoticed  while  he  remained  in 
public  life,  but  conceived  it  a  justice  due  to  his  character 
solemnly  to  pronounce  those  letters  a  base  forgery,  and  he 
desired  that  the  present  letter  might  be  “deposited  in  the 
office  of  the  Department  of  State,  as  a  testimony  to  the  truth 
to  the  present  generation  and  to  posterity.” 

On  the  same  day  he  gave  a  kind  of  farewell  dinner  to  the 
foreign  ministers  and  their  wives,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Adams,  Mr. 
Jefferson,  and  other  conspicuous  personages  of  both  sexes. 
“During  the  dinner  much  hilarity  prevailed,”  says  Bishop 
"White,  who  was  present.  When  the  cloth  was  removed 
Washington  filled  his  glass:  “Ladies  and  gentlemen,”  said 
he,  “this  is  the  last  time  I  shall  drink  your  health  as  a 
public  man;  I  do  it  with  sincerity,  wishing  you  all  possible 
happiness.” 

The  gayety  of  the  company  was  checked  in  an  instant; 
all  felt  the  importance  of  this  leave-taking ;  Mrs.  Liston,  the 
wife  of  the  British  minister,  was  so  much  affected  that  tears 
streamed  down  her  cheeks. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  an  immense  crowd  had  gathered 
about  Congress  Hall.  At  eleven  o’clock,  Mr.  Jefferson  took 
the  oath  as  Vice-President  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate; 
and  proceeded  with  that  body  to  the  Chamber  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  which  was  densely  crowded,  many  ladies 
occupying  chairs  ceded  to  them  by  members. 

After  a  time,  Washington  entered  amid  enthusiastic  cheers 


*  Life  of  Washington,  vol.  iii.,  8vo,  pp.  360,  361. 


Cife  of  U/as^ii7<$tot> 


357 


and  acclamations,  and  the  waving  of  handkerchiefs.  Mr. 
Adams  soon  followed  and  was  likewise  well  received,  but 
not  with  like  enthusiasm.  Having  taken  the  oath  of  office, 
Mr.  Adams,  in  his  inaugural  address,  spoke  of  his  predeces¬ 
sor  as  one  “who,  by  a  long  course  of  great  actions,  regulated 
by  prudence,  justice,  temperance  and  fortitude,  had  merited 
the  gratitude  of  his  fellow-citizens,  commanded  the  highest 
praises  of  foreign  nations,  and  secured  immortal  glory  with 
posterity.’  ’ 

At  the  close  of  the  ceremony,  as  Washington  moved  to¬ 
ward  the  door  to  retire,  there  was  a  rush  from  the  gallery  to 
the  corridor  that  threatened  the  loss  of  life  or  limb,  so  eager 
were  the  throng  to  catch  a  last  look  of  one  who  had  so  long 
been  the  object  of  public  veneration.  When  Washington 
was  in  the  street  he  waved  his  hat  in  return  for  the  cheers 
of  the  multitude,  his  countenance  radiant  with  benignity,  his 
gray  hairs  streaming  in  the  wind.  The  crowd  followed  him 
to  his  door;  there,  turning  round,  his  countenance  assumed 
a  grave  and  almost  melancholy  expression,  his  eyes  were 
bathed  in  tears,  his  emotions  were  too  great  for  utterance, 
and  only  by  gestures  could  he  indicate  his  thanks  and  con¬ 
vey  his  farewell  blessing.* 

In  the  evening  a  splendid  banquet  was  given  to  him  by 
the  principal  inhabitants  of  Philadelphia  in  the  Amphithea¬ 
ter,  which  was  decorated  with  emblematical  paintings.  All 
the  heads  of  departments,  the  foreign  ministers,  several  offi¬ 
cers  of  the  late  army,  and  various  persons  of  note  were  pres¬ 
ent.  Among  the  paintings,  one  represented  the  home  of  his 
heart,  the  home  to  which  he  was  about  to  hasten — Mount 
Vernon. 

*  From  personal  recollections  of  William  A.  Duer,  late 
President  of  Columbia  College. 


358 


U/or^s  of  U/asffio^tOQ  Iruii}$ 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-ONE 

Washington  at  Mount  Vernon — Influx  of  strange  Faces-— Lawrence 
Lewis — Miss  Nelly  Custis — Washington’s  Counsel  in  Love  Mat¬ 
ters — A  Romantic  Episode — Return  of  George  Washington  La¬ 
fayette 

His  official  career  being  terminated,  Washington  set  off 
for  Mount  Vernon,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Washington,  her 
granddaughter,  Miss  Nelly  Custis,  and  George  Washington 
Lafayette,  with  his  preceptors. 

Of  the  enthusiastic  devotion  manifested  toward  him 
wherever  he  passed  he  takes  the  following  brief  and  char¬ 
acteristic  notice:  “The  attentions  we  met  with  on  our  jour¬ 
ney  were  very  flattering,  and  to  some,  whose  minds  are  dif¬ 
ferently  formed  from  mine,  would  have  been  highly  relished ; 
but  I  avoided,  in  every  instance  where  I  had  any  previous 
notice  of  the  intention,  and  could,  by  earnest  entreaties, 
prevail,  all  parade  and  escorts.” 

He  is  at  length  at  Mount  Vernon,  that  haven  of  repose  to 
which  he  had  so  often  turned  a  wishful  eye  throughout  his 
agitated  and  anxious  life,  and  where  he  trusted  to  pass  quietly 
and  serenely  the  remainder  of  his  days.  He  finds  himself, 
however,  “in  the  situation  of  a  new  beginner;  almost  every¬ 
thing  about  him  required  considerable  repairs,  and  a  house 
is  immediately  to  be  built  for  the  reception  and  safe  keeping 
of  his  military,  civil,  and  private  papers.”  “In  a  word,” 
writes  he,  “I  am  already  surrounded  by  joiners,  masons  and 
painters,  and  such  is  my  anxiety  to  be  out  of  their  hands 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii}<$tOQ 


359 


that  I  have  scarcely  a  room  to  put  a  friend  into,  or  to  sit  in 
myself,  without  the  music  of  hammers  and  the  odoriferous 
scent  of  paint.” 

Still  he  is  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  as  the  spring  opens,  the 
rural  beauties  of  the  country  exert  their  sweetening  influ¬ 
ence.  In  a  letter  to  his  friend  Oliver  Wolcott,  who,  as  Sec¬ 
retary  of  the  Treasury,  was  still  acting  on  “the  great  thea¬ 
ter,”  he  adverts  but  briefly  to  public  affairs.  “For  myself,” 
adds  he,  exultingly,  “having  turned  aside  from  the  broad 
walks  of  political  into  the  narrow  paths  of  private  life,  I 
shall  leave  it  with  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  consider  subjects 
of  this  sort,  and,  as  every  good  citizen  ought  to  do,  conform 
to  whatsoever  the  ruling  powers  shall  decide.  To  make  and 
sell  a  little  flour  annually,  to  repair  houses  going  fast  to  ruin, 
to  build  one  for  the  security  of  my  papers  of  a  public  nature, 
and  to  amuse  myself  in  agricultural  and  rural  pursuits,  will 
constitute  employment  for  the  few  years  I  have  to  remain 
on  this  terrestrial  globe.  If,  also,  I  could  now  and  then 
meet  the  friends  I  esteem,  it  would  fill  the  measure  and  add 
zest  to  my  enjoyments ;  but,  if  ever  this  happens,  it  must  be 
under  my  own  vine  and  fig-tree,  as  I  do  not  think  it  probable 
that  I  shall  go  beyond  twenty  miles  from  them.  ’  ’ 

And  again,  to  another  friend  he  indulges  in  pleasant 
anticipations:  “Retired  from  noise  myself  and  the  respon¬ 
sibility  attached  to  public  employment,  my  hours  will  glide 
smoothly  on.  My  best  wishes,  however,  for  the  prosperity 
of  our  country  will  always  have  the  first  place  in  my 
thoughts;  while  to  repair  buildings  and  to  cultivate  my 
farms,  which  require  close  attention,  will  occupy  the  few 
years,  perhaps  days,  I  may  be  a  sojourner  here,  as  I  am  now 
in  the  sixty-fifth  year  of  my  peregrination  through  life.”  * 


*  Letter  to  William  Heath.,  Writings,  xi.  199. 


360 


U/or^s  of  U/asl?ir}<$tor)  Iruii?$ 


A  letter  to  his  friend  James  McHenry.  Secretary  of  War, 
furnishes  a  picture  of  his  everyday  life.  “I  am  indebted  to 
you,”  writes  he,  “for  several  unacknowledged  letters;  but 
never  mind  that;  go  on  as  if  you  had  answers.  You  are  at 
the  source  of  information,  and  can  find  many  things  to  re¬ 
late,  while  I  have  nothing  to  say  that  could  either  inform  or 
amuse  a  Secretary  of  W ar  in  Philadelphia.  I  might  tell  him 
that  I  begin  my  diurnal  course  with  the  sun ;  that,  if  my 
hirelings  are  not  in  their  places  at  that  time,  I  send  them 
messages  of  sorrow  for  their  indisposition;  that,  having  put 
these  wheels  in  motion,  I  examine  the  state  of  things  further; 
that  the  more  they  are  probed  the  deeper  I  find  the  wounds 
which  my  buildings  have  sustained,  by  an  absence  and  neg¬ 
lect  of  eight  years;  that,  by  the  time  I  have  accomplished 
these  matters,  breakfast  (a  little  after  seven  o’clock,  about 
the  time  I  presume  you  are  taking  leave  of  Mrs.  McHenry) 
is  ready;  that,  this  being  over,  I  mount  my  horse  and  ride 
round  my  farms,  which  employs  me  until  it  is  time  to  dress 
for  dinner,  at  which  I  rarely  miss  seeing  strange  faces,  come, 
as  they  say,  out  of  respect  to  me.  Pray,  would  not  the  word 
curiosity  answer  as  well?  And  how  different  this  from  hav¬ 
ing  a  few  social  friends  at  a  cheerful  board !  The  usual  time 
of  sitting  at  table,  a  walk,  and  tea  bring  me  within  the  dawn 
of  candle  light ;  previous  to  which,  if  not  prevented  by  com¬ 
pany,  I  resolve  that,  as  soon  as  the  glimmering  taper  sup¬ 
plies  the  place  of  the  great  luminary,  I  will  retire  to  my 
writing  table  and  acknowledge  the  letters  I  have  received; 
but  when  the  lights  are  brought  I  feel  tired  and  disinclined 
to  engage  in  this  work,  conceiving  that  the  next  night  will 
do  as  well.  The  next  night  comes,  and  with  it  the  same 
causes  for  postponement,  and  so  on.  Having  given  you  the 
history  of  a  day,  it  will  serve  for  a  year,  and,  I  am  per- 


Cife  of  \JJastyT)$tor) 


361 


suaded,  you  will  not  require  a  second  edition  of  it.  But  it 
may  strike  you  that  in  this  detail  no  mention  is  made  of  any 
portion  of  time  allotted  for  reading.  The  remark  would  be 
just,  for  I  have  not  looked  into  a  book  since  I  came  home; 
nor  shall  I  be  able  to  do  it  until  I  have  discharged  my  work¬ 
men  ;  probably  not  before  the  nights  grow  longer,  when  pos¬ 
sibly  I  may  be  looking  in  Doomsday  Book.” 

In  his  solitary  rides  about  Mount  Yernon  and  its  wood¬ 
lands,  fond  and  melancholy  thoughts  would  occasionally  sad¬ 
den  the  landscape  as  his  mind  reverted  to  past  times  and 
early  associates.  In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  S.  Fairfax,  now  in 
England,  he  writes:  “It  is  a  matter  of  sore  regret  when  I 
cast  my  eyes  toward  Belvoir,  which  I  often  do,  to  reflect 
that  the  former  inhabitants  of  it,  with  whom  we  lived  in 
such  harmony  and  friendship,  no  longer  reside  there,  and 
the  ruins  only  can  be  viewed  as  the  mementos  of  former 
pleasures.” 

The  influx  of  strange  faces  alluded  to  in  the  letter  to  Mr. 
McHenry  soon  became  overwhelming,  and  Washington  felt 
the  necessity  of  having  some  one  at  hand  to  relieve  him  from 
a  part  of  the  self-imposed  duties  of  Virginia  hospitality. 

With  this  view  he  bethought  him  of  his  nephew  Law¬ 
rence  Lewis,  the  same  who  had  gained  favor  with  him  by 
volunteering  in  the  Western  expedition,  and  accompanying 
General  Morgan  as  aid-de-camp.  He  accordingly  addressed 
a  letter  to  him  in  which  he  writes:  “Whenever  it  is  conven¬ 
ient  to  you  to  make  this  place  your  home,  I  shall  be  glad  to 
see  you.  ...  As  both  your  aunt  and  I  are  in  the  decline 
of  life,  and  regular  in  our  habits,  especially  in  our  hours  of 
rising  and  going  to  bed,  I  require  some  person  (fit  and  prop¬ 
er)  to  ease  me  of  the  trouble  of  entertaining  company,  par¬ 
ticularly  of  nights,  as  it  is  my  inclination  to  retire  (and 

Vol.  XV.—’ ***16 


362 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl^ip^top  Iruii)<$ 


unless  prevented  by  very  particular  company,  I  always  do 
retire)  either  to  bed  or  to  my  study  soon  after  candle  light. 
In  taking  those  duties  (which  hospitality  obliges  one  to  be¬ 
stow  on  company)  off  my  hands,  it  would  render  me  a  very 
acceptable  service.,,  * 

In  consequence  of  this  invitation,  Lawrence  thencefor¬ 
ward  became  an  occasional  inmate  at  Mount  Vernon.  The 
place  at  this  time  possessed  attractions  for  gay  as  well  as 
grave,  and  was  often  enlivened  by  young  company.  One 
great  attraction  was  Miss  Nelly  Custis,  Mrs.  "Washington’s 
granddaughter,  who,  with  her  brother  George  W.  P.  Custis, 
had  been  adopted  by  the  general  at  their  father’s  death,  when 
they  were  quite  children,  and  brought  up  by  him  with  the 
most  affectionate  care.  He  was  fond  of  children,  especially 
girls;  as  to  boys,  with  all  his  spirit  of  command,  he  found 
them  at  times  somewhat  ungovernable.  I  can  govern  men, 
would  he  say,  but  I  cannot  govern  boys.  Miss  Nelly  had 
grown  up  under  the  special  eye  of  her  grandmother,  to  whom 
she  was  devotedly  attached,  and  who  was  particular  in  en¬ 
forcing  her  observance  of  all  her  lessons,  as  well  as  instruct¬ 
ing  her  in  the  arts  of  housekeeping.  She  was  a  great  favor¬ 
ite  with  the  general ;  whom,  as  we  have  before  observed,  she 
delighted  with  her  gay  whims  and  sprightly  sallies,  often 
overcoming  his  habitual  gravity,  and  surprising  him  into  a 
hearty  laugh. 

She  was  now  maturing  into  a  lovely  and  attractive  wo¬ 
man,  and  the  attention  she  received  began  to  awaken  some 
solicitude  in  the  general’s  mind.  This  is  evinced  in  a  half 
sportive  letter  of  advice  written  to  her  during  a  temporary 
absence  from  Mount  Vernon,  when  she  was  about  to  make 


*  MS.  Letter. 


Cife  of  U/as^ip^tor) 


363 


her  first  appearance  at  a  ball  at  Georgetown.  It  is  curious 
as  a  specimen  of  Washington’s  counsel  in  love  matters.  It 
would  appear  that  Miss  Nelly,  to  allay  his  solicitude,  had 
already,  in  her  correspondence,  professed  “a  perfect  apathy 
toward  the  youth  of  the  present  day,  and  a  determination 
never  to  give  herself  a  moment’s  uneasiness  on  account  of 
any  of  them.”  Washington  doubted  the  firmness  and  con¬ 
stancy  of  her  resolves.  “Men  and  women,”  writes  he,  “feel 
the  same  inclination  toward  each  other  now  that  they  always 
have  done,  and  which  they  will  continue  to  do,  until  there  is 
a  new  order  of  things ;  and  you,  as  others  have  done,  may 
find  that  the  passions  of  your  sex  are  easier  raised  than  al¬ 
layed.  Do  not,  therefore,  boast  too  soon,  nor  too  strongly  of 
your  insensibility.  .  .  .  Love  is  said  to  be  an  involuntary 
passion,  and  it  is,  therefore,  contended  that  it  cannot  be  re¬ 
sisted.  This  is  true  in  part  only,  for,  like  all  things  else, 
when  nourished  and  supplied  plentifully  with  aliment,  it  is 
rapid  in  its  progress;  but  let  these  be  withdrawn,  and  it  may 
be  stifled  in  its  birth,  or  much  stinted  in  its  growth.  .  .  . 
Although  we  cannot  avoid  first  impressions,  we  may  as¬ 
suredly  place  them  under  guard.  .  .  .  When  the  fire  is  be¬ 
ginning  to  kindle  and  your  heart  growing  warm,  propound 
these  questions  to  it.  Who  is  this  invader?  Have  I  a  com¬ 
petent  knowledge  of  him?  Is  he  a  man  of  good  character? 
A  man  of  sense?  For,  be  assured,  a  sensible  woman  can 
never  be  happy  with  a  fool.  What  has  been  his  walk  in 
life?  ...  Is  his  fortune  sufficient  to  maintain  me  in  the 
manner  I  have  been  accustomed  to  live,  and  as  my  sisters 
do  live?  And  is  he  one  to  whom  my  friends  can  have  no 
reasonable  objection?  If  all  these  interrogatories  can  be 
satisfactorily  answered,  there  will  remain  but  one  more  to 
be  asked ;  that,  however,  is  an  important  one.  Have  I  suffi* 


364 


U/orl^s  of  U/asf?ii}<$toi)  Irvir>$ 


cient  ground  to  conclude  that  his  affections  are  engaged  by 
me?  Without  this  the  heart  of  sensibility  will  struggle 
against  a  passion  that  is  not  reciprocated.”  * 

The  sage  counsels  of  Washington,  and  the  susceptible 
feelings  of  Miss  Nelly,  were  soon  brought  to  the  test  by  the 
residence  of  Lawrence  Lewis  at  Mount  Vernon.  A  strong 
attachment  for  her  grew  up  on  his  part,  or  perhaps  already 
existed,  and  was  strengthened  by  daily  intercourse.  It  was 
favorably  viewed  by  his  uncle.  Whether  it  was  fully  recip¬ 
rocated  was  uncertain.  A  formidable  rival  to  Lewis  ap¬ 
peared  in  the  person  of  young  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  who 
had  just  returned  from  Europe,  adorned  with  the  graces  of 
foreign  travel,  and  whose  suit  was  countenanced  by  Mrs. 
Washington.  These  were  among  the  poetic  days  of  Mount 
Vernon,  when  its  halls  echoed  to  the  tread  of  lovers.  They 
were  halcyon  days  with  Miss  Nelly,  as  she  herself  declared, 
in  after  years,  to  a  lady,  from  whom  we  have  the  story:  “1 
was  young  and  romantic  then,”  said  she,  “and  fond  of  wan¬ 
dering  alone  by  moonlight  in  the  woods  of  Mount  Vernon. 
Grandmamma  thought  it  wrong  and  unsafe,  and  scolded 
and  coaxed  me  into  a  promise  that  I  would  not  wander  in 
the  woods  again  unaccompanied.  But  I  was  missing  one 
evening,  and  was  brought  home  from  the  interdicted  woods 
to  the  drawing-room,  where  the  general  was  walking  up  and 
down  with  his  hands  behind  him,  as  was  his  wont.  Grand¬ 
mamma,  seated  in  her  great  armchair,  opened  a  severe  re¬ 
proof.  ’ * 

Poor  Miss  Nelly  was  reminded  of  her  promise  and  taxed 
with  her  delinquency.  She  knew  that  she  had  done  wrong 
—admitted  her  fault,  and  essayed  no  excuse;  but,  when 


MS.  Letter. 


Cife  of  U/asf?ir)<2tor) 


365 


there  was  a  slight  pause,  moved  to  retire  from  the  room. 
She  was  just  shutting  the  door  when  she  overheard  the  gen¬ 
eral  attempting,  in  a  low  voice,  to  intercede  in  her  behalf. 
“My  dear,”  observed  he,  “I  would  say  no  more— perhaps 
she  was  not  alone.” 

His  intercession  stopped  Miss  Felly  in  her  retreat.  She 
re-opened  the  door  and  advanced  up  to  the  general  with  a 
firm  step.  “Sir,”  said  she,  “you  brought  me  up  to  speak 
the  truth,  and  when  I  told  grandmamma  I  was  alone,  I 
hope  you  believed  I  was  alone.” 

The  general  made  one  of  his  most  magnanimous  bows. 
“My  child,”  replied  he,  “1  beg  your  pardon/* 

We  will  anticipate  dates,  and  observe  that  the  romantic 
episode  of  Miss  Felly  Custis  terminated  to  the  general’s 
satisfaction;  she  became  the  happy  wife  of  Lawrence  Lewis, 
as  will  be  recorded  in  a  future  page. 

Early  in  the  autumn,  Washington  had  been  relieved  from 
his  constant  solicitude  about  the  fortunes  of  Lafayette.  Let¬ 
ters  received  by  George  W.  Lafayette  from  friends  in  Ham¬ 
burg  informed  the  youth  that  his  father  and  family  had  been 
liberated  from  Olmutz  and  were  on  their  way  to  Paris,  with 
the  intention  of  embarking  for  America.  George  was  dis¬ 
posed  to  sail  for  France  immediately,  eager  to  embrace  his 
parents  and  sisters  in  the  first  moments  of  their  release. 
Washington  urged  him  to  defer  his  departure  until  he  should 
receive  letters  from  the  prisoners  themselves,  lest  they  should 
cross  the  ocean  in  different  directions  at  the  same  time,  and 
pass  each  other,  which  would  be  a  great  shock  to  both  par¬ 
ties.  George,  however,  was  not  to  be  persuaded,  and  “I 
could  not  withhold  my  assent,”  writes  Washington,  “to  the 
gratification  of  his  wishes,  to  fly  to  the  arms  of  those  whom 
he  holds  most  dear.” 


366 


U/or^s  of  U/as^ir^^top  Iruip<$ 


George  and  his  tutor,  M.  Frestel,  sailed  from  New  York 
on  the  26th  of  October.  Washington  writes  from  Mount 
Vernon  to  Lafayette:  “This  letter,  I  hope  and  expect,  will 
be  presented  to  you  by  your  son,  who  is  highly  deserving  of 
such  parents  as  you  and  your  amiable  lady. 

“He  can  relate,  much  better  than  I  can  describe,  my 
participation  in  your  sufferings,  my  solicitude  for  your  relief, 
the  measures  I  adopted,  though  ineffectual,  to  facilitate  your 
liberation  from  an  unjust  and  cruel  imprisonment,  and  the 
joy  I  experienced  at  the  news  of  its  accomplishment.  I  shall 
hasten,  therefore,  to  congratulate  you,  and  be  assured  that 
no  one  can  do  it  with  more  cordiality,  with  more  sincerity, 
or  with  greater  affection  on  the  restoration  of  that  liberty 
which  every  act  of  your  life  entitles  you  to  the  enjoyment 
of;  and  I  hope  I  may  add,  to  the  uninterrupted  possession 
of  your  estates,  and  the  confidence  of  your  country.” 

The  account  which  George  W.  Lafayette  had  received 
of  the  liberation  of  the  prisoners  of  Olmutz  was  premature. 
It  did  not  take  place  until  the  19th  of  September,  nor  was 
it  until  the  following  month  of  February  that  the  happy 
meeting  took  place  between  George  and  his  family,  whom 
he  found  residing  in  the  chateau  of  a  relative  in  Holstein. 


Cife  of  U/asl^ip^top 


367 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-TWO 

Parting  Address  of  the  French  Directory  to  Mr.  Monroe — The  new 
American  Minister  ordered  to  leave  the  Republic — Congress  con¬ 
vened — Measures  of  Defense  recommended — Washington’s  Con¬ 
cern — Appointment  of  three  Envoys  Extraordinary — Doubts 
their  Success — Hears  of  an  old  Companion  in  Arms — The  three 
Ministers  and  Talleyrand — Their  degrading  Treatment — Threat¬ 
ened  War  with  France — Washington  appointed  Commander-in- 
chief — Arranges  for  three  Major-Generals — Knox  aggrieved 

Washington  had  been  but  a  few  months  at  Mount  Ver¬ 
non,  when  he  received  intelligence  that  his  successor  in  office 
had  issued  a  proclamation  for  a  special  session  of  Congress. 
He  was  not  long  in  doubt  as  to  its  object.  The  French  gov¬ 
ernment  had  declared,  on  the  recall  of  Mr.  Monroe,  that  it 
would  not  receive  any  new  minister  plenipotentiary  from  the 
United  States  until  that  power  should  have  redressed  the 
grievances  of  which  the  republic  had  complained.  When 
Mr.  Monroe  had  his  audience  of  leave,  Mr.  Barras,  the  Presi¬ 
dent  of  the  Directory,  addressed  him  in  terms  complimentary 
to  himself,  but  insulting  to  his  country.  “The  French  Re¬ 
public  hopes,”  said  he,  “that  the  successors  of  Columbus, 
of  Raleigh,  and  of  Penn,  ever  proud  of  their  liberty,  will 
never  forget  that  they  owe  it  to  France.  .  .  In  their  wis¬ 
dom,  they  will  weigh  the  magnanimous  benevolence  of  the 
French  people  with  the  artful  caresses  of  perfidious  designers, 
who  meditate  to  draw  them  back  to  their  ancient  slavery. 
Assure,  Mr.  Minister,  the  good  American  people  that,  like 
them,  we  adore  liberty;  that  they  will  always  have  our 
esteem,  and  that  they  will  find  in  the  French  people  the 


368 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?ir;$t09  Iruip$ 


republican  generosity  which  knows  how  to  accord  peace,  as 
it  knows  how  to  make  its  sovereignty  respected. 

“As  to  you,  Mr.  Minister  Plenipotentiary,  you  have 
fought  for  the  principles,  you  have  known  the  true  inter¬ 
ests  of  your  country.  Depart  with  our  regrets.  We  give 
up,  in  you,  a  representative  of  America,  and  we  retain  the 
remembrance  of  the  citizen  whose  personal  qualities  honor 
that  title.” 

A  few  days  afterward,  when  Mr.  Charles  Cotesworth 
Pinckney  presented  himself  as  successor  to  Mr.  Monroe,  the 
Directory  refused  to  receive  him,  and  followed  up  the  indig¬ 
nity  by  ordering  him  to  leave  the  territories  of  the  republic. 
Its  next  step  was  to  declare  applicable  to  American  ships 
the  rules  in  regard  to  neutrals  contained  in  the  treaty  which 
Washington  had  signed  with  England. 

It  was  in  view  of  these  facts  and  of  the  captures  of  Amer¬ 
ican  vessels  by  French  cruisers,  that  President  Adams  had 
issued  a  proclamation  to  convene  Congress  on  the  15th  of 
May.  In  his  opening  speech,  he  adverted  especially  to  what 
had  fallen  from  Mr.  Barras  in  Monroe’s  audience  of  leave. 
“The  speech  of  the  President,”  said  he,  “discloses  senti¬ 
ments  more  alarming  than  the  refusal  of  a  minister,  because 
more  dangerous  to  our  independence  and  union;  and,  at 
the  same  time,  studiously  marked  with  indignities  toward 
the  government  of  the  United  States.  It  evinces  a  disposi¬ 
tion  to  separate  the  people  from  their  government;  to  per¬ 
suade  them  that  they  have  different  affections,  principles 
and  interests  from  those  of  their  fellow-citizens  whom  they 
themselves  have  chosen  to  manage  their  common  concerns, 
and  thus  to  produce  divisions  fatal  to  our  peace.  Such  at¬ 
tempts  ought  to  be  repelled  with  a  decision  which  shall  con¬ 
vince  France  and  the  world  that  we  are  not  a  degraded 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii)<$toi7 


369 


people,  humiliated  under  a  colonial  spirit  of  fear  and  sense 
of  inferiority,  fitted  to  be  the  miserable  instrument  of  foreign 
influence,  and  regardless  of  national  honor,  character  and 
interest.” 

Still  he  announced  his  intention  to  institute  a  fresh  at¬ 
tempt,  by  negotiation,  to  effect  an  amicable  adjustment 
of  differences,  on  terms  compatible  with  the  rights,  duties, 
interests  and  honor  of  the  nation;  but  in  the  meantime  he 
recommended  to  Congress  to  provide  effectual  measures  of 
defense. 

Though  personally  retired  from  public  life,  Washington 
was  too  sincere  a  patriot  to  be  indifferent  to  public  affairs, 
and  felt  acutely  the  unfriendly  acts  of  the  French  govern¬ 
ment,  so  repugnant  to  our  rights  and  dignity.  “The  Presi¬ 
dent’s  speech,”  writes  he,  “will,  I  conceive,  draw  forth, 
mediately  or  immediately,  an  expression  of  the  public  mind ; 
and  as  it  is  the  right  of  the  people  that  this  should  be  carried 
into  effect,  their  sentiments  ought  to  be  unequivocally  known, 
that  the  principles  on  which  the  government  has  acted,  and 
which,  from  the  President’s  speech,  are  likely  to  be  con¬ 
tinued,  may  either  be  changed,  or  the  opposition  that  is 
endeavoring  to  embarrass  every  measure  of  the  Executive 
may  meet  effectual  discountenance.  Things  cannot  and 
ought  not  to  remain  any  longer  in  their  present  disagreeable 
state.  Nor  should  the  idea  that  the  government  and  the 
people  have  different  views  be  suffered  any  longer  to  prevail 
at  home  or  abroad;  for  it  is  not  only  injurious  to  us,  but 
disgraceful  also,  that  a  government  constituted  as  ours  is 
should  be  administered  contrary  to  their  interests,  if  the 
fact  be  so.”  * 


*  Letter  to  Thomas  Pinckney.  W  ritings,  xi.  202. 


370 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?ii)$tor)  IruiQ^f 


In  pursuance  of  the  policy  announced  by  Mr.  Adams, 
three  envoys  extraordinary  were  appointed  to  the  French 
republic ;  viz. ,  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney,  J  ohn  Marshall, 
and  Elbridge  Gerry;  the  two  former  federalists,  the  latter 
a  democrat.  The  object  of  their  mission,  according  to  the 
President,  was  “to  dissipate  umbrages,  remove  prejudices, 
rectify  errors,  and  adjust  all  differences  by  a  treaty  between 
the  two  powers.” 

Washington  doubted  an  adjustment  of  the  differences. 
“Candor,”  said  he,  “is  not  a  more  conspicuous  trait  in  the 
character  of  governments  than  it  is  of  individuals.  It  is 
hardly  to  be  expected,  then,  that  the  Directory  of  France 
will  acknowledge  its  errors  and  tread  back  its  steps  imme¬ 
diately.  This  would  announce  at  once  that  there  has  been 
precipitancy  and  injustice  in  the  measures  they  have  pur¬ 
sued;  or  that  they  were  incapable  of  judging,  and  had  been 
deceived  by  false  appearances.” 

About  this  time  he  received  a  pamphlet  on  the  “Military 
and  Political  Situation  of  France.”  It  was  sent  to  him  by 
the  author,  General  Dumas,  who,  in  the  time  of  our  Revolu- 
tion,  had  been  an  officer  in  the  army  of  the  Count  de  Ro- 
chambeau.  “Your  Excellency,”  writes  Dumas,  “will  ob¬ 
serve  in  it  (the  pamphlet)  the  effect  of  your  lessons.”  Then 
speaking  of  his  old  military  chief:  “General  Rochambeau,” 
adds  he,  “is  still  at  his  country  seat  near  Yendome.  He 
enjoys  there  tolerably  good  health  considering  his  great  age, 
and  reckons,  as  well  as  his  military  family,  among  his  most 
dear  and  glorious  remembrances,  that  of  the  time  we  had 
the  honor  to  serve  under  your  command.” 

Some  time  had  elapsed  since  Washington  had  heard  of 
his  old  companion  in  arms,  who  had  experienced  some  of  the 
melodramatic  vicissitudes  of  the  French  revolution.  After 


Cife  of  U/asbip^top 


371 


the  arrest  of  the  king  he  hap  taken  anew  the  oath  of  the 
constitution,  and  commanded  the  army  of  the  north,  having 
again  received  the  baton  of  field  marshal.  Thwarted  in  his 
plans  by  the  Minister  of  War,  he  had  resigned  and  retired 
to  his  estate  near  Vendome;  but  during  the  time  of  terror 
had  been  arrested,  conducted  to  Paris,  thrown  into  the  con- 
ciergerie,  and  condemned  to  death.  When  the  car  came 
to  convey  a  number  of  the  victims  to  the  guillotine,  he  was 
about  to  mount  it,  but  the  executioner,  seeing  it  full,  thrust 
him  back.  “Stand  back,  old  marshal,”  cried  he,  roughly, 
“your  turn  will  come  by-and-by.”  (Retire  toi,  vieux  mare- 
chal,  ton  tour  viendra  plus  tard.)  A  sudden  change  in 
political  affairs  saved  his  life,  and  enabled  him  to  return 
to  his  home  near  Yendome,  where  he  now  resided. 

In  a  reply  to  Dumas,  which  Washington  forwarded  by 
the  minister  plenipotentiary  about  to  depart  for  France,  he 
sent  his  cordial  remembrances  to  De  Rochambeau.* 

The  three  ministers  met  in  Paris  on  the  4th  of  October 
(1797),  but  were  approached  by  Talleyrand  and  his  agents 
in  a  manner  which  demonstrated  that  the  avenue  to  justice 
could  only  be  opened  by  gold.  Their  official  report  f  reveals 
the  whole  of  this  dishonorable  intrigue.  It  states  that  Mr. 
Pinckney  received  a  visit  from  Mr.  Bellarni,  the  secret  agent 


*  The  worthy  De  Rochambeau  survived  the  storms  of 
the  Revolution.  In  1803  he  was  presented  to  Napoleon, 
who,  pointing  to  Berthier  and  other  generals  who  had  once 
served  under  his  orders,  said:  “Marshal,  behold  your  schol¬ 
ars.”  “The  scholars  have  surpassed  their  master,”  replied 
the  modest  veteran. 

In  the  following  year  he  received  the  cross  of  grand 
officer  of  the  legion  of  honor,  and  a  marshal’s  pension.  He 
died  full  of  years  and  honors,  in  1807. 

t  American  State  Papers,  vols.  iii.  and  iv. 


372 


U/ork[8  of  U/asf)ir}<$tor>  Iruir><$ 


of  Mr.  Talleyrand,  who  assured  him  that  Citizen  Talleyrand 
had  the  highest  esteem  for  America  and  the  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  and  was  most  anxious  for  their  reconciliation 
with  France.  With  that  view  some  of  the  most  offensive 
passages  in  the  speech  of  President  Adams  (in  May,  1797) 
must  be  expunged,  and  a  douceur  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars  put  at  the  disposal  of  Mr.  Talle37rand  for 
the  use  of  the  Directory,  and  a  large  loan  made  by  America 
to  France. 

On  the  20th  of  October,  the  same  subject  was  resumed 
in  the  apartments  of  the  plenipotentiary,  and,  on  this  occa¬ 
sion,  besides  the  secret  agent,  an  intimate  friend  of  Talley¬ 
rand  was  present.  The  expunging  of  the  passages  in  the 
President’s  speech  was  again  insisted  on,  and  it  was  added 
that,  after  that,  money  was  the  principal  object.  “We  must 
have  money — a  great  deal  of  money!”  were  his  words. 

At  a  third  conference,  October  21st,  the  sum  was  fixed 
at  32,000,000  francs  (6,400,000  dollars),  as  a  loan  secured 
on  the  Dutch  contributions ,  and  250,000  dollars  in  the  form 
of  a  douceur  to  the  Diretory. 

At  a  subsequent  meeting,  October  27th,  the  same  secret 
agent  said,  “Gentlemen,  you  mistake  the  point,  you  say 
nothing  of  the  money  you  are  to  give — you  make  no  offer 
of  money — on  that  point  you  are  not  explicit .”  “We 
are  explicit  enough,”  replied  the  American  envoys.  “We 
will  not  give  you  one  farthing;  and  before  coming  here, 
we  should  have  thought  such  an  offer  as  you  now  propose 
would  have  been  regarded  as  a  mortal  insult.” 

On  this  indignant  reply,  the  wily  agent  intimated  that 
if  they  would  only  pay,  by  way  of  fees,  just  as  they  would 
to  a  lawyer  who  should  plead  their  case,  the  sum  required 
for  the  private  use  of  the  Directory,  they  might  remain  at 


Cife  of  U/asfiip^toi} 


373 


Paris  until  they  should  receive  further  orders  from  America 
as  to  the  loan  required  for  government.* 

Being  inaccessible  to  any  such  disgraceful  and  degrading 
propositions,  the  envoys  remained  several  months  in  Paris 
unaccredited,  and  finally  returned  at  separate  times,  without 
an  official  discussion  of  the  object  of  their  mission,  f 

During  this  residence  of  the  envoys  in  Paris,  the  Direc¬ 
tory,  believing  the  people  of  the  United  States  would  not  sus¬ 
tain  their  government  in  a  war  against  France,  proceeded 
to  enact  a  law  subjecting  to  capture  and  condemnation  neu¬ 
tral  vessels  and  their  cargoes,  if  any  portion  of  the  latter 
was  of  British  fabric  or  produce,  although  the  entire  property 
might  belong  to  neutrals.  As  the  United  States  were  at  this 
time  the  great  neutral  carriers  of  the  world,  this  iniquitous 
decree  struck  at  a  vital  point  in  their  maritime  power.  J 

When  this  act  and  the  degrading  treatment  of  the  Amer¬ 
ican  envoys  became  known,  the  spirit  of  the  nation  was 
aroused,  and  war  with  France  seemed  inevitable. 

The  crisis  was  at  once  brought  to  Washington’s  own 
door.  “You  ought  to  be  aware, writes  Hamilton  to  him, 
May  19,  “that  in  the  event  of  an  open  rupture  with  France, 
the  public  voice  will  again  call  you  to  command  the  armies 
of  your  country ;  and  though  all  who  are  attached  to  you 
will,  from  attachment  as  well  as  public  considerations,  de¬ 
plore  an  occasion  which  should  once  more  tear  you  from 
that  repose  to  which  you  have  -so  good  a  right,  yet  it  is  the 


*  See  Life  of  Talleyrand,  by  the  Rev.  Charles  K.  McHarg, 

pp.  161,  162. 

f  Marshall  left  France  April  16,  1798;  Gerry  on  the  26th 
July.  Pinckney,  detained  by  the  illness  of  his  daughter, 
did  not  arrive  in  the  United  States  until  early  in  October, 
t  McHarg’s  Life  of  Talleyrand,  160. 


874 


U/or^s  of  U/asfiffi^tor) 


opinion  of  all  those  with  whom  I  converse,  that  you  will 
be  compelled  to  make  the  sacrifice.  All  your  past  labors 
may  demand,  to  give  them  efficacy,  this  further,  this  very 
great  sacrifice.” 

The  government  was  resolved  upon  vigorous  measures. 
Congress,  on  the  28th  of  May,  authorized  Mr.  Adams  to 
enlist  ten  thousand  men  as  a  provisional  army,  to  be  called 
by  him  into  actual  service,  in  case  of  hostilities. 

Adams  was  perplexed  by  the  belligerent  duties  thus  sud¬ 
denly  devolved  upon  him.  How  should  he  proceed  in  form¬ 
ing  an  army?  Should  he  call  on  all  the  old  generals  who 
had  figured  in  the  Revolution,  or  appoint  a  young  set?  Mili  > 
tary  tactics  were  changed,  and  a  new  kind  of  enemy  was 
to  be  met.  “If  the  French  come  here,”  said  he,  “we  will 
have  to  march  with  a  quick  step  and  attack,  for  in  that  way 
only  they  are  said  to  be  vulnerable.” 

These  and  other  questions  he  propounded  to  Washington 
by  letter,  on  the  22d  of  June.  “I  must  tax  you  sometimes 
for  advice,”  writes  he.  “We  must  have  your  name,  if  you 
will  in  any  case  permit  us  to  use  it.  There  will  be  more 
efficacy  in  it  than  in  many  an  army.” 

And  McHenry,  the  Secretary  of  War,  writes,  about  the 
same  time:  “You  see  how  the  storm  thickens,  and  that  our 
vessel  will  soon  require  its  ancient  pilot.  Will  you — maj 
we  flatter  ourselves,  that,  in  a  crisis  so  awful  and  important, 
you  will — accept  the  command  of  all  our  armies?  I  hope 
you  will,  because  you  alone  can  unite  all  hearts  and  all 
hands,  if  it  is  possible  that  they  can  be  united.” 

In  a  reply  to  the  President’s  letter,  Washington  writes, 
on  the  4th  of  July:  “At  the  epoch  of  my  retirement,  an 
invasion  of  these  States  by  any  European  power,  or  even 
the  probability  of  such  an  event  happening  in  my  days,  was 


Cife  of  U/asbffi^top 


375 


30  far  from  being  contemplated  by  me,  that  I  had  no  concep¬ 
tion  that  that  or  any  other  occurrence  would  arise  in  so  short 
a  period,  which  could  turn  my  eyes  from  the  shade  of  Mount 
Vernon.  ...  In  case  of  actual  invasion ,  by  a  formidable 
force,  I  certainly  should  not  intrench  myself  under  the  cover 
of  age  and  retirement,  if  my  services  should  be  required  by 
my  country  to  assist  in  repelling  it.” 

And  in  his  reply  of  the  same  date,  to  the  Secretary  of 
War,  he  writes:  <£I  see,  as  you  do,  that  clouds  are  gather¬ 
ing,  and  that  a  storm  may  ensue;  and  I  find,  too,  from  a 
variety  of  hints,  that  my  quiet,  under  these  circumstances, 
does  not  promise  to  be  of  long  continuance. 

»••••••• 

“As  my  whole  life  has  been  dedicated  to  my  country 
in  one  shape  or  another,  for  the  poor  remains  of  it,  it  is  not 
an  object  to  contend  for  ease  and  quiet,  when  all  that  is 
valuable  is  at  stake,  further  than  to  be  satisfied  that  the 
sacrifice  I  should  make  of  these  is  acceptable  and  desired 
by  my  country.” 

Before  these  letters  were  dispatched  he  had  already  been 
nominated  to  the  Senate  (July  3d)  commander-in-chief  of 
all  the  armies  raised  or  to  be  raised.  His  nomination  was 
unanimously  confirmed  on  the  following  day,  and  it  was 
determined  that  the  Secretary  of  War  should  be  the  bearer 
of  the  commission  to  Mount  Vernon,  accompanied  by  a  letter 
from  the  President.  “The  reasons  and  motives,”  writes 
Mr.  Adams  in  his  instructions  to  the  Secretary,  “which 
prevailed  with  me  to  venture  upon  such  a  step  as  the  nomi¬ 
nation  of  this  great  and  illustrious  character,  whose  volun¬ 
tary  resignation  alone  occasioned  my  introduction  to  the 
office  I  now  hold,  were  too  numerous  to  be  detailed  in  this 
letter,  and  are  too  obvious  and  important  to  escape  the 


376 


U/or^s  of  U/asl?ii}<$toi}  Iruii?$ 


observation  of  any  part  of  America  or  Europe.  But  as  it 
is  a  movement  of  great  delicacy,  it  will  require  all  your 
address  to  communicate  the  subject  in  a  manner  that  shall 
be  unoffensive  to  his  feelings  and  consistent  with  all  the 
respect  that  is  due  from  me  to  him. 

“If  the  General  should  decline  the  appointment,  all  the 
world  will  be  silent  and  respectfully  assent.  If  he  should 
accept  it,  all  the  world,  except  the  enemies  of  this  country, 
will  rejoice.” 

Mr.  McHenry  was  instructed  to  consult  Washington  - 
upon  the  organization  of  the  army,  and  upon  everything 
relating  to  it.  He  was  the  bearer  also  of  a  letter  from  Ham¬ 
ilton.  “I  use  the  liberty,”  writes  he,  “which  my  attach¬ 
ment  to  you  and  to  the  public  authorizes,  to  offer  you  my 
opinion  that  you  should  not  decline  the  appointment.  It  is 
evident  that  the  public  satisfaction  at  it  is  lively  and  uni¬ 
versal.  It  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  the  circumstances  will 
give  an  additional  spring  to  the  public  mind,  will  tend  much 
to  unite,  and  will  facilitate  the  measures  which  the  conjunc¬ 
tion  requires.” 

It  was  with  a  heavy  heart  that  W ashington  found  his 
dream  of  repose  once  more  interrupted ;  but  his  strong  fidelity 
to  duty  would  not  permit  him  to  hesitate.  He  accepted  the 
commission,  however,  with  the  condition  that  he  should  not 
be  called  into  the  field  until  the  army  was  in  a  situation  to 
require  his  presence;  or  it  should  become  indispensable  by 
the  urgency  of  circumstances. 

“In  making  this  reservation,”  added  he,  in  his  letter  to 
the  President,  “I  beg  it  to  be  understood  that  I  do  not  mean 
to  withhold  any  assistance  to  arrange  and  organize  the  army 
which  you  may  think  I  can  afford.  I  take  the  liberty,  also, 
to  mention  that  I  must  decline  having  my  acceptance  con- 


Cife  of  U/a8fyir)$toi) 


377 


sidered  as  drawing  after  it  any  immediate  charge  upon  the 
public ;  or  that  I  can  receive  any  emoluments  annexed  to 
the  appointment  before  entering  into  a  situation  to  incur 
expense.’ * 

He  made  another  reservation,  through  the  Secretary  of 
War,  but  did  not  think  proper  to  embody  it  in  his  public 
letter  of  acceptance,  as  that  would  be  communicated  to  the 
Senate,  which  was,  that  the  principal  officers  in  the  line 
and  of  the  staff  should  be  such  as  he  could  place  confi¬ 
dence  in. 

As  to  the  question  which  had  perplexed  Mr.  Adams 
whether,  in  forming  the  army,  to  call  on  all  the  old  generals 
or  appoint  a  new  set,  “Washington’s  idea  was  that,  as  the 
armies  about  to  be  raised  were  commencing  de  novo>  the 
President  had  the  right  to  make  officers  of  citizens  or  soldiers 
at  his  discretion,  availing  himself  of  the  best  aid  the  country 
afforded.  That  no  officer  of  the  old  army,  disbanded  four¬ 
teen  years  before,  could  expect ,  much  less  claim ,  an  appoint¬ 
ment  on  any  other  ground  than  superior  experience,  brilliant 
exploits,  and  general  celebrity  founded  on  merit. 

It  was  with  such  views  that,  in  the  arrangements  made 
by  him  with  the  Secretary  of  War,  the  three  major-generals 
stood,  Hamilton,  who  was  to  be  Inspector-general,  Charles 
Cotesworth  Pinckney  (not  yet  returned  from  Europe),  and 
Knox:  in  which  order  he  wished  their  commissions  to  be 
dated.  The  appointment  of  Hamilton  as  second  in  command 
was  desired  by  the  public,  on  account  of  his  distinguished 
ability,  energy  and  fidelity.  Pickering,  in  recommending 
it,  writes:  “The  enemy  whom  we  are  now  preparing  to 
encounter,  veterans  in  arms,  led  by  able  and  active  officers, 
and  accustomed  to  victory,  must  be  met  by  the  best  blood, 
talents,  energy  and  experience  that  our  country  can  pro- 


378 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?iQ<$tor> 


duce.”  Washington,  speaking  of  him  to  the  President, 
says:  “Although  Colonel  Hamilton  has  never  acted  in  the 
character  of  a  general  officer,  yet  his  opportunities,  as  the 
principal  and  most  confidential  aid  of  the  commander-in¬ 
chief,  afforded  him  the  means  of  viewing  everything  on  a 
larger  scale  than  those  whose  attention  was  confined  to 
divisions  or  brigades,  who  know  nothing  of  the  correspond¬ 
ences  of  the  commander-in-chief,  or  of  the  various  orders 
to,  or  transactions  with,  the  general  staff  of  the  army. 
These  advantages,  and  his  having  served  with  usefulness 
in  the  old  Congress,  in  the  general  convention,  and  having 
filled  one  of  the  most  important  departments  of  government 
with  acknowledged  abilities  and  integrity,  have  placed  him 
on  high  ground,  and  made  him  a  conspicuous  character  in 
the  United  States  and  in  Europe.  .  .  . 

“By  some  he  is  considered  an  ambitious  man,  and,  there¬ 
fore,  a  dangerous  one.  That  he  is  ambitious,  I  shall  readily 
grant,  but  it  is  of  that  laudable  kind  which  prompts  a  man 
to  excel  in  whatever  he  takes  in  hand.  He  is  enterprising, 
quick  in  his  perceptions,  and  his  judgment  intuitively  great 
— qualities  essential  to  a  military  character.” 

Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney  was  placed  next  in  rank, 
not  solely  on  account  of  his  military  qualifications,  which 
were  great,  but  of  his  popularity  and  influence  in  the  South¬ 
ern  States,  where  his  connections  were  numerous  and  power¬ 
ful;  it  being  apprehended  that,  if  the  French  intended  an 
invasion  in  force,  their  operations  would  commence  south  of 
Maryland ;  in  which  case  it  would  be  all  important  to  em¬ 
bark  General  Pinckney  and  his  connections  heartily  in  the 
active  scenes  that  would  follow. 

By  this  arrangement  Hamilton  and  Pinckney  took  prece¬ 
dence  of  Knox,  an  officer  whom  Washington  declared  he 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii?$toi} 


379 


loved  and  esteemed ;  but  he  trusted  the  exigencies  of  the  case 
would  reconcile  the  latter  to  the  position  assigned  to  him. 
“Viewing  things  in  this  light,”  writes  he  to  Knox,  July 
16th,  “I  would  fain  hope,  as  we  are  forming  an  army  anew, 
which  army,  if  needful  at  all,  is  to  fight  for  everything  which 
ought  to  be  dear  and  sacred  to  freemen,  that  former  rank 
will  be  forgotten,  and,  among  the  fit  and  chosen  characters, 
the  only  contention  will  be  who  shall  be  foremost  in  zeal  at 
this  crisis  to  serve  his  country,  in  whatever  situation  circum¬ 
stances  may  place  him.” 

The  reply  of  Knox,  written  in  the  glow  of  the  moment, 
bespoke  how  deeply  his  warm  impulsive  feelings  were 
wounded.  “I  yesterday  received  your  favor,”  writes  he, 
“which  I  opened  with  all  the  delightful  sensations  of  affec¬ 
tion  which  I  always  before  experienced  upon  the  receipt  of 
your  letters.  But  I  found,  on  its  perusal,  a  striking  instance 
of  that  vicissitude  of  human  affairs  and  friendships  which 
you  so  justly  describe.  I  read  it  with  astonishment,  which, 
however,  subsided  in  the  reflection  that  few  men  know  them- 
•  selves,  and,  therefore,  that  for  more  than  twenty  years  I 
have  been  acting  under  a  perfect  delusion.  Conscious  my¬ 
self  of  entertaining  for  you  a  sincere,  active  and  invariable 
friendship,  I  easily  believed  it  was  reciprocal.  Kay  more,  I 
flattered  myself  with  your  esteem  and  respect  in  a  military 
point  of  view.  But  I  find  that  others,  greatly  my  juniors  in 
rank,  have  been,  upon  a  scale  of  comparison,  preferred  be¬ 
fore  me.  Of  this,  perhaps,  the  world  may  also  concur  with 
you  that  I  have  no  just  reason  to  complain.  But  every  in¬ 
telligent  and  just  principle  of  society  required,  either  that  I 
should  have  been  previously  consulted  in  an  arrangement 
in  which  my  feelings  and  happiness  have  been  so  much 
wounded,  or  that  I  should  not  have  been  dragged  forth  to 


380  Worlds  of  U/as}?ii?<$tor)  Iruir)<$ 

public  view  at  all,  to  make  the  comparison  so  conspicuously 
odious.” 

After  continuing  in  an  expostulatory  vein,  followed  by 
his  own  views  of  the  probable  course  of  invasion,  he  adds, 
toward  the  close  of  his  letter — “I  have  received  no  other  no¬ 
tification  of  an  appointment  than  what  the  newspapers  an¬ 
nounce.  When  it  shall  please  the  Secretary  of  War  to  give 
me  the  information,  I  shall  endeavor  to  make  him  a  suitable 
answer.  At  present,  I  do  not  perceive  how  it  can  possibly 
be  to  any  other  purport  than  in  the  negative.” 

In  conclusion,  he  writes :  4  c  In  whatever  situation  I  shall 
be,  I  shall  always  remember  with  pleasure  and  gratitude  the 
friendship  and  confidence  with  which  you  have  heretofore 
honored  me. 

“I  am,  with  the  highest  attachment,”  etc. 

Washington  was  pained  in  the  extreme  at  the  view  taken 
by  General  Knox  of  the  arrangement,  and  at  the  wound 
which  it  had  evidently  given  to  his  feelings  and  his  pride. 
In  a  letter  to  the  President  (25th  Sept.),  he  writes:  “With 
respect  to  General  Knox,  I  can  say  with  truth  there  is  no 
man  in  the  United  States  with  whom  I  have  been  in  habits 
of  greater  intimacy,  no  one  whom  I  have  loved  more  sin¬ 
cerely,  nor  any  for  whom  I  have  had  a  greater  friendship. 
But  esteem,  love  and  friendship  can  have  no  influence  on  my 
mind,  when  I  conceive  that  the  subjugation  of  our  govern¬ 
ment  and  independence  are  the  objects  aimed  at  by  the  ene¬ 
mies  of  our  peace,  and  when,  possibly,  our  all  is  at  stake.” 

In  reply  to  Knox,  Washington,  although  he  thought  the 
reasons  assigned  in  his  previous  letter  ought  to  have  been 
sufficiently  explanatory  of  his  motives,  went  into  long  details 
of  the  circumstances  under  which  the  military  appointments 
had  been  made,  and  the  important  considerations  which 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii}<$tor? 


381 


dictated  them ;  and  showing  that  it  was  impossible  for  him 
to  consult  Knox  previously  to  the  nomination  of  the  general 
officers. 

“I  do  not  know,”  writes  he,  “that  these  explanations 
will  afford  you  any  satisfaction  or  produce  any  change  in 
your  determination,  but  it  was  just  to  myself  to  make  them. 
If  there  has  been  any  management  in  the  business,  it  has 
been  concealed  from  me.  I  have  had  no  agency  therein,  nor 
have  I  conceived  a  thought  on  the  subject  that  has  not  been 
disclosed  to  you  with  the  utmost  sincerity  and  frankness  of 
heart.  And  now,  notwithstanding  the  insinuations,  which 
are  implied  in  your  letter,  of  the  vicissitudes  of  friendship 
and  the  inconstancy  of  mine,  I  will  pronounce  with  decision 
that  it  ever  has  been,  and,  notwithstanding  the  unkindness 
of  the  charge,  ever  will  be,  for  aught  I  know  to  the  contrary, 
warm  and  sincere.” 

The  genial  heart  of  Knox  was  somewhat  soothed  and 
mollided  by  the  “welcome  and  much  esteemed  letter  of 
Washington,  in  which,”  said  he,  “I  recognize  fully  all  the 
substantial  friendship  and  kindness  wdiich  I  have  invariably 
experienced  from  you. 5  ’  Still  he  was  tenacious  of  the  point 
of  precedence,  and  unwilling  to  serve  in  a  capacity  which 
would  compromise  his  pride.  “If  an  invasion  shall  take 
place,”  writes  he,  “I  shall  deeply  regret  all  circumstances 
which  would  insuperably  bar  my  having  an  active  commad 
in  the  field.  But  if  such  a  measure  should  be  my  destiny,  I 
shall  fervently  petition  to  serve  as  one  of  your  aides-de-camp, 
which,  with  permission,  I  shall  do  with  all  the  cordial  devo¬ 
tion  and  affection  of  which  my  soul  is  capable.” 

On  the  18th  of  October,  Washington  learned  through  the 
gazettes  of  the  safe  arrival  of  General  Pinckney  at  New 
York,  and  was  anxious  lest  there  should  be  a  second  part 


382 


U/orl^g  of  U/asl?ii)$toi)  Iruir)<$ 


of  the  difficulty  created  by  General  "Knox.  On  the  21st  he 
writes  again  to  Knox,  reiterating  his  wish  to  have  him  in 
the  augmented  corps  as  a  major-general. 

6 ‘We  shall  have  either  no  wary  or  a  severe  contest  with 
France;  in  either  case,  if  you  will  allow  me  to  express  my 
opinion,  this  is  the  most  eligible  time  for  you  to  come  for¬ 
ward.  In  the  first  case,  to  assist  with  your  counsel  and  aid 
in  making  judicious  provisions  and  arrangements  to  avert 
it;  in  the  other  case,  to  share  in  the  glory  of  defending  your 
country,  and,  by  making  all  secondary  objects  yield  to  that 
great  and  primary  object,  display  a  mind  superior  to  embar¬ 
rassing  punctilios  at  so  critical  a  moment  as  the  present. 

44  After  having  expressed  these  sentiments  with  the  frank¬ 
ness  of  undisguised  friendship,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  add 
that,  if  you  should  finally  decline  the  appointment  of  major- 
general,  there  is  none  to  whom  I  would  give  a  more  decided 
preference  as  an  aid-de-camp,  the  offer  of  which  is  highly 
flattering,  honorable,  and  grateful  to  my  feelings,  and  for 
which  I  entertain  a  high  sense.  But,  my  dear  General 
Knox,  and  here  again  I  repeat  to  you,  in  the  language  of 
candor  and  friendship,  examine  well  your  own  mind  upon 
this  subject.  Do  not  unite  yourself  to  the  suite  of  a  man 
whom  you  may  consider  as  the  primary  cause  of  what  you 
call  a  degradation,  with  unpleasant  sensations.  This,  while 
it  is  gnawing  upon  you,  would,  if  I  should  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  it,  make  me  unhappy;  as  my  first  wish  would 
be  that  my  military  family,  and  the  whole  army,  should 
consider  themselves  a  band  of  brothers,  willing  and  ready 
to  die  for  each  other.” 

Before  Knox  could  have  received  this  letter,  he  had,  on 
the  23d  of  October,  written  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  declin¬ 
ing  to  serve  under  Hamilton  and  Pinckney,  on  the  principle 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii)<$toi) 


383 


that  “no  officer  can  consent  to  his  own  degradation  by  serv¬ 
ing  in  an  inferior  station.’ *  General  Pinckney,  on  the  con¬ 
trary,  cheerfully  accepted  his  appointment,  although  placed 
under  Hamilton,  who  had  been  of  inferior  rank  to  him  in  the 
last  war.  It  was  with  the  greatest  pleasure  he  had  seen  that 
officer’s  name  at  the  head  of  the  list  of  major-generals,  and 
applauded  the  discernment  which  had  placed  him  there.  He 
regretted  that  General  Knox  had  declined  his  appointment, 
and  that  his  feelings  should  be  hurt  by  being  outranked. 
“If  the  authority,”  adds  he,  “which  appointed  me  to  the 
rank  of  second  major  in  the  army,  will  review  the  arrange¬ 
ment,  and  place  General  Knox  before  me,  I  will  neither  quit 
the  service  nor  be  dissatisfied.”  * 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-THREE 

Washington  taxed  anew  with  the  Cares  of  Office — Correspondence 
with  Lafayette — A  Marriage  at  Mount  Vernon — Appointment 
of  a  Minister  to  the  French  Republic — Washington’s  Surprise — 
His  Activity  on  his  Estate— Political  Anxieties — Concern  about 
the  Army 

Early  in  November  (1798)  Washington  left  his  retire¬ 
ment  and  repaired  to  Philadelphia,  at  the  earnest  request  of 
the  Secretary  of  War,  to  meet  that  public  functionary  and 
Major-generals  Hamilton  and  Pinckney,  and  make  arrange¬ 
ments  respecting  the  forces  about  to  be  raised.  The  Secre¬ 
tary  had  prepared  a  series  of  questions  for  their  considera¬ 
tion,  and  others  were  suggested  by  Washington,  all  bearing 
upon  the  organization  of  the  provisional  army.  Upon  these 


*  Letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War. 


384 


U/or^s  of  U/asbir^tor?  Iruir)<$ 


Washington  and  the  two  major-generals  were  closely  en¬ 
gaged  for  nearly  five  weeks,  at  great  inconvenience  and  in 

a  most  inclement  season.  The  result  of  their  deliberations 

* 

was  reduced  to  form,  and  communicated  to  the  Secretary  in 
two  letters  drafted  by  Hamilton  and  signed  by  the  command¬ 
er-in-chief.  Not  the  least  irksome  of  Washington’s  task,  in 
his  present  position,  was  to  wade  through  volumes  of  appli¬ 
cations  and  recommendations  for  military  appointments;  a 
task  which  he  performed  with  extreme  assiduity,  anxious  to 
avoid  the  influence  of  favor  or  prejudice,  and  sensitively  alive 
to  the  evil  of  improper  selections. 

As  it  was  a  part  of  the  plan  on  which  he  had  accepted 
the  command  of  the  army  to  decline  the  occupations  of  the 
office  until  circumstances  should  require  his  presence  in  the 
field,  and  as  the  season  and  weather  rendered  him  impatient 
to  leave  Philadelphia,  he  gave  the  Secretary  of  War  his 
views  and  plans  for  the  charge  and  direction  of  military 
affairs,  and  then  set  out  once  more  for  Mount  Vernon.  The 
cares  and  concerns  of  office,  however,  followed  him  to  his  re¬ 
treat.  “It  is  not  the  time  nor  the  attention  only,”  writes 
he,  “which  the  public  duties  I  am  engaged  in  require,  but 
their  bringing  upon  me  applicants,  recommenders  of  appli¬ 
cants,  and  seekers  of  information,  none  of  whom,  perhaps, 
are  my  acquaintances,  with  their  servants  and  horses  to  aid 
in  the  consumption  of  my  forage,  and  what  to  me  is  more 
valuable,  my  time,  that  I  most  regard ;  for  a  man  in  the 
country,  nine  miles  from  any  house  of  entertainment,  is 
differently  situated  from  one  in  a  city,  where  none  of  these 
inconveniences  are  felt.”  In  a  letter,  recently  received 
from  Lafayette,  the  latter  spoke  feelingly  of  the  pleasure 
he  experienced  in  conversing  incessantly  with  his  son  George 
about  Mount  Vernon,  its  dear  and  venerated  inhabitants,  of 


Cife  of  U/a8fyir)<$tor> 


385 


the  tender  obligation,  so  profoundly  felt,  which  he  and  his 
son  had  contracted  toward  him  who  had  become  a  father 
to  both. 

In  the  conclusion  of  his  letter,  Lafayette  writes  that,  from 
the  information  he  had  received,  he  was  fully  persuaded  that 
the  French  Directory  desired  to  be  at  peace  with  the  United 
States.  “The  aristocratical  party,”  adds  he,  “whose  hatred 
of  America  dates  from  the  commencement  of  the  European 
revolution,  and  the  English  government,  which,  since  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  have  forgotten  and  forgiven 
nothing,  will  rejoice,  I  know,  at  the  prospect  of  a  rupture 
between  two  nations  heretofore  united  in  the  cause  of  liberty, 
and  will  endeavor,  by  all  the  means  in  their  power,  to  pre¬ 
cipitate  us  into  a  war.  .  .  .  But  you  are  there,  my  dear 
general,  independent  of  all  parties,  venerated  by  all,  and  if, 
as  I  hope,  your  information  lead  you  to  judge  favorably  of 
the  disposition  of  the  French  government,  your  influence 
ought  to  prevent  the  breach  from  widening,  and  should  in¬ 
sure  a  noble  and  durable  reconciliation.” 

In  his  reply,  Dec.  25th,  Washington  says:  “You  have 
expressed  a  wish  worthy  of  the  benevolence  of  your  heart, 
that  I  would  exert  all  my  endeavors  to  avert  the  calamitous 
effects  of  a  rupture  between  our  countries.  Believe  me,  my 
dear  friend,  that  no  man  can  deprecate  an  event  of  this  sort 
more  than  1  should.  ...  You  add,  in  another  place,  that 
the  Executive  Directory  are  disposed  to  an  accommodation 
of  all  differences.  If  tney  are  sincere  m  this  declaration,  let 
them  evidence  it  by  actions ;  for  words,  unaccompanied  there¬ 
with,  will  not  be  much  regarded  now.  I  would  pledge  my¬ 
self  that  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States 
will  meet  them  heart  and  hand  at  a  fair  negotiation ;  having 

no  wish  more  ardent  than  to  live  in  peace  with  all  the  world, 

Vol.  XV.— 5 ***17 


386  U/orl^s  of  U/asl^iQ^top  Iruir?<$ 

provided  they  are  suffered  to  remain  undisturbed  in  their 
just  rights.” 

“Of  the  politics  of  Europe,”  adds  he,  in  another  part  of 
his  letter,  “I  shall  express  no  opinion,  nor  make  any  inquiry 
who  is  right  or  who  is  wrong.  I  wish  well  to  all  nations 
and  to  all  men.  My  politics  are  plain  and  simple.  I  think 
every  nation  has  a  right  to  establish  that  form  of  govern¬ 
ment  under  which  it  conceives  it  may  live  most  happy ;  pro¬ 
vided  it  infringes  no  right,  or  is  not  dangerous  to  others; 
and  that  no  governments  ought  to  interfere  with  the  internal 
concerns  of  another,  except  for  the  security  of  what  is  due 
to  themselves.” 

"W ashington’s  national  pride,  however,  had  been  deeply 
wounded  by  the  indignities  inflicted  on  his  country  by  the 
French,  and  he  doubted  the  propriety  of  entering  into  any 
fresh  negotiations  with  them,  unless  overtures  should  be 
made  on  their  part.  As  to  any  symptoms  of  an  accommo¬ 
dation  they  might  at  present  evince,  he  ascribed  them  to  the 
military  measures  adopted  by  the  United  States,  and  thought 
those  measures  ought  not  to  be  relaxed. 

We  have  spoken  in  a  preceding  chapter  of  a  love  affair 
growing  up  at  Mount  Yernon  between  W  ashington’s  nephew, 
Lawrence  Lewis,  and  Miss  Nelly  Custis.  The  parties  had 
since  become  engaged,  to  the  general’s  great  satisfaction, 
and  their  nuptials  were  celebrated  at  Mount  Yernon  on  his 
birthday,  the  22d  of  February  (1799).  Lawrence  had  re¬ 
cently  received  the  commission  of  major  of  cavalry  in  the 
new  army  which  was  forming;  and  Washington  made  ar¬ 
rangements  for  settling  the  newly  married  couple  near  him 
on  a  part  of  the  Mount  Yernon  lands  which  he  had  desig¬ 
nated  in  his  will  to  be  bequeathed  to  Miss  Nelly. 

As  the  year  opened,  Washington  continued  to  correspond 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii}<$toi) 


387 


with  the  Secretary  of  War  and  General  Hamilton  on  the 
affairs  of  the  provisional  army.  The  recruiting  business 
went  on  slowly,  with  interruptions,  and  there  was  delay  in 
furnishing  commissions  to  the  officers  who  had  been  ap¬ 
pointed.  Washington,  who  was  not  in  the  secrets  of  the 
cabinet,  was  at  a  loss  to  account  for  this  apparent  torpor. 
“If  the  augmented  force,”  writes  he  to  Hamilton,  “was  not 
intended  as  an  in  terrorem  measure,  the  delay  in  recruiting 
it  is  unaccountable,  and  baffles  all  conjecture  on  reasonable 
grounds.” 

The  fact  was  that  the  military  measures  taken  in  Ameri¬ 
can  had  really  produced  an  effect  on  French  policy.  Efforts 
had  been  made  by  M.  Talleyrand,  through  unofficial  persons, 
to  induce  an  amicable  overture  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States.  At  length  that  wily  minister  had  written  to  the 
French  Secretary  of  Legation  at  the  Hague,  M.  Pichon,  in¬ 
timating  that  whatever  plenipotentiary  the  United  States 
might  send  to  France  to  put  an  end  to  the  existing  differ¬ 
ences  between  the  two  countries  would  be  undoubtedly  re¬ 
ceived  with  the  respect  due  to  the  representative  of  a  free, 
independent  and  powerful  nation;  M.  Pichon  communi¬ 
cated  a  copy  of  this  letter  to  Mr.  William  Vans  Murray, 
the  American  minister  in  Holland,  who  forthwith  trans¬ 
mitted  it  to  his  government.  Mr.  Adams  caught  at  the 
chance  for  an  extrication  from  his  belligerent  difficulties, 
and  laid  this  letter  before  the  Senate  on  the  18th  of  Febru¬ 
ary,  at  the  same  time  nominating  Mr.  Murray  to  be  minister 
plenipotentiary  to  the  French  Republic. 

Washington  expressed  his  extreme  surprise  when  the 
news  of  this  unexpected  event  reached  him.  “But  far,  very 
far  indeed,”  writes  he,  “was  that  surprise  short  of  what  I 
experienced  the  next  day,  when,  by  a  very  intelligent  gem 


388 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?ir)<$tor) 


tleman  immediately  from  Philadelphia,  I  was  informed  that 
there  had  been  no  direct  overture  from  the  government  of 
France  to  that  of  the  United  States  for  a  negotiation;  on 
the  contrary,  that  M.  Talleyrand  was  playing  the  same  loose 
and  round-about  game  he  had  attempted  the  year  before 
with  our  envoys;  and  which,  as  in  that  case,  might  mean 
anything  or  nothing,  as  would  subserve  his  purposes  best.” 

Before  the  Senate  decided  on  the  nomination  of  Mr. 
Murray,  two  other  persons  were  associated  with  him  in  the 
mission,  namely,  Oliver  Ellsworth  and  Patrick  Henry.  The 
three  envoys  being  confirmed,  Mr.  Murray  was  instructed 
by  letter  to  inform  the  French  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs 
of  the  fact,  but  to  apprise  him  that  his  associate  envoys 
would  not  embark  for  Europe  until  the  Directory  had  given 
assurance,  through  their  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  that 
those  envoys  would  be  received  in  proper  form  and  treated 
with  on  terms  of  equality.  Mr.  Murray  was  directed  at  the 
same  time  to  have  no  further  informal  communications  with 
any  French  agent. 

Mr.  Henry  declined  to  accept  his  appointment,  on  account 
of  ill  health,  and  Mr.  William  Richardson  Davie  was  ulti¬ 
mately  substituted  for  him. 

Throughout  succeeding  months,  Washington  continued 
to  superintend  from  a  distance  the  concerns  of  the  army, 
as  his  ample  and  minute  correspondence  manifests ;  and  he 
was  at  the  same  time  earnestly  endeavoring  to  bring  the 
affairs  of  his  rural  domain  into  order.  A  sixteen  years’ 
absence  from  home,  with  short  intervals,  had,  he  said,  de¬ 
ranged  them  considerably,  so  that  it  required  all  the  time 
he  could  spare  from  the  usual  avocations  of  life  to  bring 
them  into  tune  again.  It  was  a  period  of  incessant  activity 
and  toil,  therefore,  both  mental  and  bodily.  He  was  for 


Cife  of  U/a8t?ii}<$toi} 


389 


hours  in  his  study  occupied  with  his  pen,  and  for  hours  on 
horseback,  riding  the  rounds  of  his  extensive  estate,  visiting 
the  various  farms,  and  superintending  and  directing  the 
works  in  operation.  All  this  he  did  with  unfailing  vigor, 
though  now  in  his  sixty-seventh  year. 

Occasional  reports  of  the  sanguinary  conflict  that  was 
going  on  in  Europe  would  reach  him  in  the  quiet  groves  of 
Mount  Vernon,  and  awaken  his  solicitude.  “A  more  de¬ 
structive  sword,”  said  he,  4 ‘was  never  drawn,  at  least  in 
modern  times,  than  this  war  has  produced.  It  is  time 
to  sheathe  it  and  give  peace  to  mankind.”  * 

Amid  this  strife  and  turmoil  of  the  nations,  he  felt  re¬ 
doubled  anxiety  about  the  success  of  the  mission  to  France. 
The  great  successes  of  the  allies  combined  against  that  power; 
the  changes  in  the  Directory,  and  the  rapidity  with  which 
everything  seemed  verging  toward  a  restoration  of  the  mon¬ 
archy,  induced  some  members  of  the  cabinet  to  advise  a 
suspension  of  the  mission;  but  Mr.  Adams  was  not  to  be 
convinced  or  persuaded.  Having  furnished  the  commis¬ 
sioners  with  their  instructions,  he  gave  his  final  order  for 
their  departure,  and  they  sailed  in  a  frigate  from  Rhode 
Island  on  the  3d  of  November. 

A  private  letter  written  by  “Washington  shortly  afterward 
to  the  Secretary  of  War  bespeaks  his  apprehensions:  “I  have 
for  some  time  past  viewed  the  political  concerns  of  the  United 
States  with  an  anxious  and  painful  eye.  They  appear  to  me 
to  be  moving  by  hasty  strides  to  a  crisis;  but  in  what  it  will 
result,  that  Being,  who  sees,  foresees,  and  directs  all  things, 
alone  can  tell.  The  vessel  is  afloat,  or  very  nearly  so,  and 
considering  myself  as  a  passenger  only,  I  shall  trust  to  the 


*  Letter  to  William  Vans  Murray. 


i>90  U/or^s  of  U/as^ir>($tOQ  Iruip<$ 

mariners  (whose  duty  it  is  to  watch)  to  steei  it  into  a  safe 
port.” 

His  latest  concern  about  the  army  was  to  give  instruc¬ 
tions  for  hutting  the  troops  according  to  an  idea  originally 
suggested  by  Hamilton,  and  adopted  in  the  Revolutionary 
war. 

“Although  I  had  determined  to  take  no  charge  of  any 
military  operations,”  writes  he,  “unless  the  troops  should 
be  called  into  the  field,  yet,  under  the  present  circumstances, 
and  considering  that  the  advanced  season  of  the  year  will 
admit  of  no  delay  in  providing  winter  quarters  for  the  troops, 
I  have  willingly  given  my  aid  in  that  business,  and  shall 
never  decline  any  assistance  in  my  power,  when  necessary , 
to  promote  the  good  of  the  service.”  * 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-POUR 

Washington  digests  a  Plan  for  the  Management  of  his  Estate-— His 
views  in  regard  to  a  Military  Academy — Letter  to  Hamilton — 
His  Last  Hours — The  Funeral — The  Will — Its  Provisions  in  re¬ 
gard  to  his  Slaves — Proceedings  of  Congress  on  his  Death— Con¬ 
clusion 

Winter  had  now  set  in,  with  occasional  wind  and  rain 
and  frost,  yet  Washington  still  kept  up  his  active  round  of 
indoor  and  outdoor  avocations,  as  his  diary  records.  He 
was  in  full  health  and  vigor,  dined  out  occasionally,  and 
had  frequent  guests  at  Mount  Yernon,  and,  as  usual,  was 
part  of  every  day  in  the  saddle,  going  the  rounds  of  his 
estates,  and,  in  his  military  phraseology,  “visiting  the  out¬ 
posts.” 


* 


Washington’s  Writings,  xi.  463. 


Cife  of  U/as^ip^toi) 


391 


He  had  recently  walked  with  his  favorite  nephew  about 
the  grounds,  showing  the  improvements  he  intended  to 
make,  and  had  especially  pointed  out  the  spot  where  he 
purposed  building  a  new  family  vault;  the  old  one  being 
damaged  by  the  roots  of  trees  which  had  overgrown  it  and 
caused  it  to  leak.  “This  change,”  said  he,  “I  shall  make 
the  first  of  all,  for  I  may  require  it  before  the  rest.” 

“When  I  parted  from  him,”  adds  the  nephew,  “he  stood 
on  the  steps  of  the  front  door,  where  he  took  leave  of  myself 
and  another.  ...  It  was  a  bright  frosty  morning ;  he  had 
taken  his  usual  ride,  and  the  clear,  healthy  flush  on  his 
cheek,  and  his  sprightly  manner,  brought  the  remark  from 
both  of  us  that  we  had  never  seen  the  General  look  so  well. 
I  have  sometimes  thought  him  decidedly  the  handsomest 
man  I  ever  saw ;  and  when  in  a  lively  mood,  so  full  of  pleas¬ 
antry,  so  agreeable  to  all  with  whom  he  associated,  that 
I  could  hardly  realize  he  was  the  same  Washington  whose 
dignity  awed  all  who  approached  him.”  * 

For  some  time  past  Washington  had  been  occupied  in 
digesting  a  complete  system  on  which  his  estate  was  to  be 
managed  for  several  succeeding  years ;  specifying  the  culti¬ 
vation  of  the  several  farms,  with  tables  designating  the  rota¬ 
tions  of  the  crops.  It  occupied  thirty  folio  pages,  and  was 
executed  with  that  clearness  and  method  which  character¬ 
ized  all  his  business  papers.  This  was  finished  on  the  10th 
of  December,  and  was  accompanied  by  a  letter  of  that  date 
to  his  manager  or  steward.  It  is  a  valuable  document,  show¬ 
ing  the  soundness  and  vigor  of  his  intellect  at  this  advanced 
stage  of  his  existence,  and  the  love  of  order  that  reigned 
throughout  his  affairs.  “My  greatest  anxiety,”  said  he  on 


*  Paulding’s  Life  of  Washington,  vol.  ii. ,  p.  196. 


392 


U/or^s  of  U/asf?ii7<$tor}  Iruir)<$ 


a  previous  occasion,  “is  to  have  all  these  concerns  in  such 
a  clear  and  distinct  form,  that  no  reproach  may  attach  itself 
to  me  when  I  have  taken  my  departure  for  the  land  of 
spirits.”  * 

It  was  evident,  however,  that,  full  of  health  and  vigor, 
he  looked  forward  to  his  long-cherished  hope,  the  enjoyment 
of  a  serene  old  age  in  this  home  of  his  heart. 

According  to  his  diary,  the  morning  on  which  these  vo¬ 
luminous  instructions  to  his  steward  were  dated  was  clear 
and  calm,  but  the  afternoon  was  lowering.  The  next  day 
(11th)  he  notes  that  there  was  wind  and  rain,  and  “at  night 
a  large  circle  round  the  moon.” 

The  morning  of  the  12th  was  overcast.  That  morning 
he  wrote  a  letter  to  Hamilton,  heartily  approving  of  a  plan 
for  a  military  academy,  which  the  latter  had  submitted  to 
the  Secretary  of  War.  “The  establishment  of  an  institution 
of  this  kind  upon  a  respectable  and  extensive  basis,”  observes 
he,  “has  ever  been  considered  by  me  an  object  of  primary 
importance  to  this  country;  and  while  I  was  in  the  chair 
of  government  I  omitted  no  proper  opportunity  of  recom¬ 
mending  it,  in  my  public  speeches  and  otherwise,  to  the 
attention  of  the  legislature.  But  I  never  undertook  to  go 
into  a  detail  of  the  organization  of  such  an  academy,  leaving 
this  task  to  others,  whose  pursuit  in  the  path  of  science  and 
attention  to  the  arrangement  of  such  institutions  had  better 
qualified  them  for  the  execution  of  it.  .  .  .  I  sincerely  hope 
that  the  subject  will  meet  with  due  attention,  and  that  the 
reasons  for  its  establishment,  which  you  have  clearly  pointed 
out  in  your  letter  to  the  Secretary,  will  prevail  upon  the 
legislature  to  place  it  upon  a  permanent  and  respectable 


*  Letter  to  James  McHenry.  Writings,  xi.  407. 


Cife  of  U/as^ip^tor) 


393 


footing. ”  He  closes  liis  letter  with  an  assurance  of  “very 
great  esteem  and  regard,”  the  last  words  he  was  ever  to 
address  to  Hamilton.  About  ten  o’clock  he  mounted  his 
horse,  and  rode  out  as  usual  to  make  the  rounds  of  the 
estate.  The  ominous  ring  round  the  moon,  which  he  had 
observed  on  the  preceding  night,  proved  a  fatal  portent. 
“About  one  o’clock,”  he  notes,  “it  began  to  snow,  soon 
after  to  hail,  and  then  turned  to  a  settled  cold  rain.”  Hav¬ 
ing  on  an  overcoat,  he  continued  his  ride  without  regarding 
the  weather,  and  did  not  return  to  the  house  until  after 
three. 

His  secretary  approached  him  with  letters  to  be  franked, 
that  they  might  be  taken  to  the  post-office  in  the  evening. 
Washington  franked  the  letters,  but  observed  that  the 
weather  was  too  bad  to  send  a  servant  out  with  them. 
Mr.  Lear  perceived  that  snow  was  hanging  from  his  hair, 
and  expressed  fears  that  he  had  got  wet;  but  he  replied, 
“No,  his  greatcoat  had  kept  him  dry.”  As  dinner  had 
been  waiting  for  him  he  sat  down  to  table  without  chang¬ 
ing  his  dress.  “In  the  evening,”  writes  his  secretary, 
“he  appeared  as  well  as  usual.” 

On  the  following  morning  the  snow  was  three  inches 
deep  and  still  falling,  which  prevented  him  from  taking  his 
usual  ride.  He  complained  of  a  sore  throat,  and  had  evi¬ 
dently  taken  cold  the  day  before.  In  the  afternoon  the 
weather  cleared  up,  and  he  went  out  on  the  grounds  between 
the  house  and  the  river,  to  mark  some  trees  which  were  to 
be  cut  down.  A  hoarseness  which  had  hung  about  him 
through  the  day  grew  worse  toward  night,  but  he  made 
light  of  it. 

He  was  very  cheerful  in  the  evening,  as  he  sat  in  the 
parlor  with  Mrs.  "Washington  and  Mr.  Lear,  amusing  him° 


394 


U/or^s  of  U/asI?iQ($tor> 


self  witli  the  papers  which  had  been  brought  from  the  post- 
office.  When  he  met  with  anything  interesting  or  entertain¬ 
ing,  he  would  read  it  aloud  as  well  as  his  hoarseness  would 
permit,  or  he  listened  and  made  occasional  comments  while 
Mr.  Lear  read  the  debates  of  the  Virginia  assembly. 

On  retiring  to  bed,  Mr.  Lear  suggested  that  he  should 
take  something  to  relieve  the  cold.  “No,”  replied  he,  “you 
know  I  never  take  anything  for  a  cold.  Let  it  go  as  it 
came.” 

In  the  night  he  was  taken  extremely  ill  with  ague  and 
difficulty  of  breathing.  Between  two  and  three  o’clock  in 
the  morning  he  awoke  Mrs.  Washington,  who  would  have 
risen  to  call  a  servant;  but  he  would  not  permit  her,  lest  she 
should  take  cold.  At  daybreak,  when  the  servant  woman 
entered  to  make  a  fire,  she  was  sent  to  call  Mr.  Lear.  He 
found  the  general  breathing  with  difficulty,  and  hardly  able 
to  utter  a  word  intelligibly.  Washington  desired  that  Dr. 
Craik,  who  lived  in  Alexandria,  should  be  sent  for,  and 
that  in  the  meantime  Rawlins,  one  of  the  overseers,  should 
be  summoned,  to  bleed  him  before  the  doctor  could  arrive. 

A  gargle  was  prepared  for  his  throat,  but  whenever  he 
attempted  to  swallow  any  of  it  he  was  convulsed  and  almost 
suffocated.  Rawlins  made  his  appearance  soon  after  sun¬ 
rise,  but  when  the  general’s  arm  was  ready  for  the  operation 
became  agitated.  “Don’t  be  afraid,”  said  the  general,  as 
well  as  he  could  speak.  Rawlins  made  an  incision.  “The 
orifice  is  not  large  enough,”  said  Washington.  The  blood, 
however,  ran  pretty  freely  and  Mrs.  Washington,  uncertain 
whether  the  treatment  was  proper,  and  fearful  that  too  much 
blood  might  be  taken,  begged  Mr.  Lear  to  stop  it.  When 
he  was  about  to  untie  the  string,  the  general  put  up  his  hand 
to  prevent  him,  and  as  soon  as  he  could  speak,  murmured. 


Cife  of  U/asl?ir)$toi} 


395 


“More — more;”  but  Mrs.  Washington’s  doubts  prevailed, 
and  the  bleeding  was  stopped,  after  about  half  a  pint  of 
blood  had  been  taken.  External  applications  were  now 
made  to  the  throat,  and  his  feet  were  bathed  in  warm  water, 
but  without  affording  any  relief. 

His  old  friend,  Dr.  Craik,  arrived  between  eight  and 
nine,  and  two  other  physicians,  Drs.  Dick  and  Brown,  were 
called  in.  Various  remedies  were  tried,  and  additional 
bleeding,  but  all  of  no  avail. 

“About  half-past  four  o’clock,”  writes  Mr.  Lear,  “he 
desired  me  to  call  Mrs.  Washington  to  his  bedside,  when 
he  requested  her  to  go  down  into  his  room  and  take  from 
his  desk  two  wills,  which  she  would  find  there,  and  bring 
them  to  him,  which  she  did.  Upon  looking  at  them,  he 
gave  her  one,  which  he  observed  was  useless,  as  being  super¬ 
seded  by  the  other,  and  desired  her  to  burn  it,  which  she  did, 
and  took  the  other  and  put  it  into  her  closet. 

“After  this  was  done,  I  returned  to  his  bedside  and  took 
his  hand.  He  said  to  me:  ‘I  find  I  am  going,  my  breath 
cannot  last  long.  I  believed  from  the  first  that  the  disorder 
would  prove  fatal.  Do  you  arrange  and  record  all  my  late 
military  letters  and  papers.  Arrange  my  accounts  and 
settle  my  books,  as  you  know  more  about  them  than  any 
one  else;  and  let  Mr.  Rawlins  finish  recording  my  other 
letters  which  he  has  begun.  ’  I  told  him  this  should  be  done. 
He  then  asked  if  I  recollected  anything  which  it  was  essen¬ 
tial  for  him  to  do,  as  he  had  but  a  very  short  time  to  con¬ 
tinue  with  us.  I  told  him  that  I  could  recollect  nothing; 
but  that  I  hoped  he  was  not  so  near  his  end.  He  observed, 
smiling,  that  he  certainly  was,  and  that,  as  it  was  the  debt 
which  we  must  all  pay,  he  looked  to  the  event  with  perfect 
resignation.  ’  ’ 


396 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?ir)<$tor}  In/ii}$ 


In  the  course  of  the  afternoon  he  appeared  to  be  in  great 
pain  and  distress  from  the  difficulty  of  breathing,  and  fre¬ 
quently  changed  his  posture  in  the  bed.  Mr.  Lear  endeav-  . 
ored  to  raise  him  and  turn  him  with  as  much  ease  as  pos¬ 
sible.  “I  am  afraid  I  fatigue  you  too  much,”  the  general 
would  say.  Upon  being  assured  to  the  contrary,  “Well,” 
observed  he  gratefully,  “it  is  a  debt  we  must  pay  to  each 
other,  and  I  hope  when  you  want  aid  of  this  kind  you  will 
find  it.” 

His  servant,  Christopher,  had  been  in  the  room  during 
the  day,  and  almost  the  whole  time  on  his  feet.  The  gen¬ 
eral  noticed  it  in  the  afternoon,  and  kindly  told  him  to  sit 
down. 

About  five  o’clock  his  old  friend,  Dr.  Craik,  came  again 
into  the  room,  and  approached  the  bedside.  “Doctor,”  said 
the  general,  ‘  ‘  I  die  hard,  but  I  am  not  afraid  to  go.  I  be¬ 
lieved,  from  my  first  attack,  that  I  should  not  survive  it — 
my  breath  cannot  last  long.”  The  doctor  pressed  his  hand 
in  silence,  retired  from  the  bedside,  and  sat  by  the  fire 
absorbed  in  grief. 

Between  five  and  six  the  other  physicians  came  in,  and 
he  was  assisted  to  sit  up  in  his  bed.  “I  feel  I  am  going,” 
said  he ;  “1  thank  you  for  your  attentions,  but  I  pray  you 
to  take  no  more  trouble  about  me;  let  me  go  off  quietly; 

I  cannot  last  long.”  He  lay  down  again;  all  retired  except¬ 
ing  Dr.  Craik.  The  general  continued  uneasy  and  restless, 
but  without  complaining,  frequently  asking  what  hour 
it  was. 

Further  remedies  were  tried  without  avail  in  the  even¬ 
ing.  He  took  whatever  was  offered  to  him,  did  as  he  was 
desired  by  the  physicians,  and  never  uttered  sigh  or  com¬ 
plaint. 


Cife  of  U/aslpip^tor) 


397 


“ About  ten  o’clock,”  writes  Mr.  Lear,  “he  made  several 
attempts  to  speak  to  me  before  he  could  effect  it.  At  length 
he  said,  ‘I  am  .just  going.  Have  me  decently  buried,  and 
do  not  let  my  body  be  put  into  the  vault  in  less  than  three 
days  after  I  am  dead.’  I  bowed  assent,  for  I  could  not 
speak.  He  then  looked  at  me  again,  and  said,  ‘Do  you 
understand  me?’  I  replied,  ‘Yes.’  ‘  ’Tis  well,’  said  he. 

“About  ten  minutes  before  he  expired  (which  was  be¬ 
tween  ten  and  eleven  o’clock)  his  breathing  became  easier. 
He  lay  quietly;  he  withdrew  his  hand  from  mine  and  felt 
his  own  pulse.  I  saw  his  countenance  change.  I  spoke  to 
Dr.  Craik,  who  sat  by  the  fire.  He  came  to  the  bedside. 
The  general’s  hand  fell  from  his  wrist.  I  took  it  in  mine 
and  pressed  it  to  my  bosom.  Dr.  Craik  put  his  hands  over 
his  eyes,  and  he  expired  without  a  struggle  or  a  sigh. 

“While  we  were  fixed  in  silent  grief,  Mrs.  Washington, 
who  was  seated  at  the  foot  of  the  bed,  asked  with  a  firm  and 
collected  voice,  ‘Is  he  gone?’  I  could  not  speak,  but  held 
up  my  hand  as  a  signal  that  he  was  no  more.  ‘  ’Tis  well,’ 
said  she  in  the  same  voice.  ‘  All  is  now  over ;  I  shall  soon 
follow  him;  I  have  no  more  trials  to  pass  through.’  ” 

We  add  from  Mr.  Lear’s  account  a  few  particulars  con- 
cerning  the  funeral.  The  old  family  vault  on  the  estate  had 
been  opened,  the  rubbish  cleared  away,  and  a  door  made 
to  close  the  entrance,  which  before  had  been  closed  with 
brick.  The  funeral  took  place  on  the  18th  of  December. 
About  eleven  o’clock  the  people  of  the  neighborhood  began 
to  assemble.  The  corporation  of  Alexandria,  with  the  militia 
and  Free  Masons  of  the  place,  and  eleven  pieces  of  cannon, 
arrived  at  a  later  hour.  A  schooner  was  stationed  off  Mount 
Vernon  to  fire  minute  guns.  About  three  o’clock  the  pro¬ 
cession  began  to  move,  passing  out  through  the  gate  at  the 


398 


U/orl^s  of  U/asbffi^top  Iruip$ 


left  wing  of  the  house,  proceeding  round  in  front  of  the  lawn 

and  down  to  the  vault,  on  the  right  wing  of  the  house; 

* 

minute  guns  being  fired  at  the  time.  The  troops,  horse  and 
foot,  formed  the  escort ;  then  came  four  of  the  clergy.  Then 
the  general’s  horse,  with  his  saddle,  holsters  and  pistols,  led 
by  two  grooms  in  black.  The  body  was  borne  by  the  Free 
Masons  and  officers;  several  members  of  the  family  and  old 
friends,  among  the  number  Dr.  Craik,  and  some  of  the 
Fairfaxes,  followed  as  chief  mourners.  The  corporation 
of  Alexandria  and  numerous  private  persons  closed  the 
procession.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Davis  read  the  funeral  service 
at  the  vault,  and  pronounced  a  short  address;  after  which 
the  Masons  performed  their  ceremonies,  and  the  body  was 
deposited  in  the  vault. 

Such  were  the  obsequies  of  Washington,  simple  and  mod¬ 
est,  according  to  his  own  wishes;  all  confined  to  the  grounds 
of  Mount  Yernon,  which,  after  forming  the  poetical  dream 
of  his  life,  had  now  become  his  final  resting-place. 

On  opening  the  will  which  he  had  handed  to  Mrs.  Wash¬ 
ington  shortly  before  his  death,  it  was  found  to  have  been 
carefully  drawn  up  by  himself  in  the  preceding  July;  and 
by  an  act  in  conformity  with  his  whole  career,  one  of  its  first 
provisions  directed  the  emancipation  of  his  slaves  on  the 
decease  of  his  wife.  It  had  long  been  his  earnest  wish  that 
the  slaves  held  by  him  in  his  own  right  should  receive  their 
freedom  during  his  life,  but  he  had  found  that  it  would  be 
attended  with  insuperable  difficulties  on  account  of  their 
intermixture  by  marriage  with  the  “dower  negroes,”  whom 
it  was  not  in  his  power  to  manumit  under  the  tenure  by 
which  they  were  held. 

With  provident  benignity  he  also  made  provision  in  his 
will  for  such  as  were  to  receive  their  freedom  under  this 


Cife  of  U/asfyii)<$toi) 


399 


devise,  but  who,  from  age,  bodily  infirmities,  or  infancy, 
might  be  unable  to  support  themselves,  and  he  expressly 
forbade,  under  any  pretense  whatsoever,  the  sale  or  trans¬ 
portation  out  of  Virginia,  of  any  slave  of  whom  he  might 
die  possessed.  Though  bora  and  educated  a  slaveholder, 
this  was  all  in  consonance  with  feelings,  sentiments  and 
principles  which  he  had  long  entertained. 

Tn  a  letter  to  Mr.  John  F.  Mercer,  in  September,  1786, 
he  writes:  “I  never  mean,  unless  some  particular  circum¬ 
stances  should  compel  me  to  it,  to  possess  another  slave  by 
purchase,  it  being  among  my  first  wishes  to  see  some  plan 
adopted  by  which  slavery  in  this  country  may  be  abolished 
bylaw.”  And  eleven  years  afterward,  in  August,  1797, 
he  writes  to  his  nephew,  Lawrence  Lewis,  in  a  letter  which 
we  have  had  in  our  hands,  “I  wish  from  my  soul  that  the 
Legislature  of  this  State  could  see  the  policy  of  a  gradual 
abolition  of  slavery.  It  might  prevent  much  future  mis¬ 
chief.” 

A  deep  sorrow  spread  over  the  nation  on  hearing  that 
Washington  was  no  more.  Congress,  which  was  in  session, 
immediately  adjourned  for  the  day.  The  next  morning  it 
was  resolved  that  the  Speaker’s  chair  be  shrouded  with 
black;  that  the  members  and  officers  of  the  House  wear 
black  during  the  session,  and  that  a  joint  committee  of  both 
Houses  be  appointed  to  consider  on  the  most  suitable  manner 
of  doing  honor  to  the  memory  of  the  man,  “first  in  war,  first 
in  peace,  and  first  in  the  hearts  of  his  fellow-citizens.” 

Public  testimonials  of  grief  and  reverence  were  displayed 
in  every  part  of  the  Union.  Nor  were  these  sentiments 
confined  to  the  United  States.  When  the  news  of  Wash¬ 
ington’s  death  reached  England,  Lord  Bridport,  who  had 
command  of  a  British  fleet  of  nearly  sixty  sail  of  the  line, 


400 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?ir}$toi)  Irvii}^ 


lying  at  Torbay,  lowered  his  flag  half-mast,  every  ship 

following  the  example;  and  Bonaparte,  First  Consul  of 

* 

France,  on  announcing  his  death  to  the  army,  ordered  that 
black  crape  should  be  suspended  from  all  the  standards  and 
flags,  throughout  the  public  service,  for  ten  days. 


In  the  preceding  parts  of  our  work  we  have  traced  the 
career  of  Washington  from  early  boyhood  to  his  elevation 
to  the  Presidential  chair.  It  was  an  elevation  he  had  neither 
sought  nor  wished ;  for  when  the  independence  of  his  country 
was  achieved,  the  modest  and  cherished  desire  of  his  heart 
had  been  4 4  to  live  and  die  a  private  citizen  on  his  own 
farm”;  *  and  he  had  shaped  out  for  himself  an  ideal  elysium 
in  his  beloved  shades  of  Mount  Vernon.  But  power  sought 
him  in  his  retirement.  The  weight  and  influence  of  his 
name  and  character  were  deemed  all  essential  to  complete 
his  work;  to  set  the  new  government  in  motion,  and  conduct 
it  through  its  first  perils  and  trials.  With  unfeigned  reluc¬ 
tance  he  complied  with  the  imperative  claims  of  his  country, 
and  accepted  the  power  thus  urged  upon  him:  advancing 
to  its  exercise  with  diffidence,  and  aiming  to  surround  him¬ 
self  with  men  of  the  highest  talent  and  information  whom 
he  might  consult  in  emergency;  but  firm  and  strong  in  the 
resolve  in  all  things  to  act  as  his  conscience  told  him  was 
44 right  as  it  respected  his  God,  his  country,  and  himself.” 
For  he  knew  no  divided  fidelity,  no  separate  obligation;  his 
most  sacred  duty  to  himself  was  his  highest  duty  to  ffis 
country  and  his  God. 

In  treating  of  his  civil  administration  in  this  closing  part, 
we  have  endeavored  to  show  how  truly  he  adhered  to  this 


•  Writings,  ix.,  p.  412. 


Cife  of  U/asl?ir)<$toi} 


401 


resolve,  and  with  what  inflexible  integrity  and  scrupulous 
regard  to  the  public  weal  he  discharged  his  functions.  In 
executing  our  task,  we  have  not  indulged  in  discussions  of 
temporary  questions  of  controverted  policy  which  agitated 
the  incipient  establishment  of  our  government,  but  have 
given  his  words  and  actions  as  connected  with  those  ques¬ 
tions,  and  as  illustrative  of  his  character.  In  this  part,  as 
in  those  which  treat  of  his  military  career,  we  have  avoided 
rhetorical  amplification  and  embellishments,  and  all  gratui¬ 
tous  assumptions,  and  have  sought,  by  simple  and  truthful 
details,  to  give  his  character  an  opportunity  of  developing 
itself,  and  of  manifesting  those  fixed  principles  and  that 
noble  consistency  which  reigned  alike  throughout  his  civil 
and  his  military  career. 

The  character  of  "Washington  may  want  some  of  those 
poetical  elements  which  dazzle  and  delight  the  multitude, 
but  it  possessed  fewer  inequalities,  and  a  rarer  union  of 
virtues  than  perhaps  ever  fell  to  the  lot  of  one  man.  Pru¬ 
dence,  firmness,  sagacity,  moderation,  an  overruling  judg¬ 
ment,  an  immovable  justice,  courage  that  never  faltered, 
patience  that  never  wearied,  truth  that  disdained  all  artifice, 
magnanimity  without  alloy.  It  seems  as  if  Providence  had 
endowed  him  in  a  pre-eminent  degree  with  the  qualities 
requisite  to  fit  him  for  the  high  destiny  he  was  called  upon 
to  fulfill — to  conduct  a  momentous  revolution  which  was 
to  form  an  era  in  the  history  of  the  world,  and  to  inaugurate 
a  new  and  untried  government,  which,  to  use  his  own  words, 
was  to  lay  the  foundation  “for  the  enjoyment  of  much  purer 
civil  liberty,  and  greater  public  happiness,  than  have  hitherto 
been  the  portion  of  mankind.” 

The  fame  of  Washington  stands  apart  from  every  other 
in  history ;  shining  with  a  truer  luster  and  a  more  benignant 


402 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?ii7<$tor)  Irurt)$ 


glory.  With  us  his  memory  remains  a  national  property, 
where  all  sympathies  throughout  our  widely  extended  and 
diversified  empire  meet  in  unison.  Under  all  dissensions 
and  amid  all  the  storms  of  party,  his  precepts  and  example 
speak  to  us  from  the  grave  with  a  paternal  appeal ;  and  his 
name — by  all  revered — forms  a  universal  tie  of  brotherhood 
— a  watchword  of  our  Union. 

“It  will  be  the  duty  of  the  historian  and  the  sage  of 
all  nations,”  writes  an  eminent  British  statesman  (Lord 
Brougham),  “to  let  no  occasion  pass  of  commemorating 
this  illustrious  man;  and  until  time  shall  be  no  more 
will  a  test  of  the  progress  which  our  race  has  made  in 
wisdom  and  virtue  be  derived  from  the  veneration  paid  to 
the  immortal  name  of  Washington.” 


APPENDIX 


i 

PORTRAITS  OF  WASHINGTON 

[The  following  notices  of  the  various  representations  of  Washington, 
which  have  been  prepared  by  the  publisher  for  the  illustrated 
edition  of  this  work,  are  kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  H.  T.  Tucker- 
MAN,  from  a  volume  which  he  has  now  in  press.] 

The  earliest  portraits  of  Washington  are  more  interest¬ 
ing,  perhaps,  as  memorials  than  as  works  of  art;  and  we 
can  easily  imagine  that  associations  endeared  them  to  his  old 
comrades.  The  dress  (blue  coat,  scarlet  facings,  and  under¬ 
clothes)  of  the  first  portrait,  by  Peale,  and  the  youthful  face, 
make  it  suggestive  of  the  first  experience  of  the  future  com¬ 
mander,  when,  exchanging  the  surveyor’s  implements  for 
the  colonel’s  commission,  he  bivouacked  in  the  wilderness 
of  Ohio,  the  leader  of  a  motley  band  of  hunters,  provincials, 
and  savages,  to  confront  wily  Frenchmen,  cut  forest  roads, 
and  encounter  all  the  perils  of  Indian  ambush,  inclement 
skies,  undisciplined  followers,  famine,  and  woodland  skir¬ 
mish.  It  recalls  his  calm  authority  and  providential  escape 
amid  the  dismay  of  Braddock’s  defeat,  and  his  pleasant 
sensation  at  the  first  whistling  of  bullets  in  the  weary  march 
to  Fort  Necessity.  To  Charles  Wilson  Peale  we  owe 
this  precious  relic  of  the  chieftain’s  youth.  His  own  career 
partook  of  the  vicissitudes  and  was  impressed  with  the  spirit 
of  the  Revolutionary  era ;  a  captain  of  volunteers  at  the  battles 
of  Trenton  and  Germantown,  and  a  State  representative  of 
Pennsylvania,  a  favorite  pupil  of  West,  an  ingenious  mocha- 

(403) 


404 


Wor\s  of  U/asl?ir}<$tor)  Iroirp<$ 


nician,  and  a  warrior,  he  always  cherished  the  instinct  and 
the  faculty  for  art;  and  even  amid  the  bustle  and  duties 
of  the  camp,  never  failed  to  seize  auspicious  intervals  of 
leisure  to  depict  his  brother  officers.  This  portrait  was 
executed  in  1772,  and  is  now  at  Arlington  House. 

The  resolution  of  Congress,  by  which  a  portrait  by  this 
artist  was  ordered,  was  passed  before  the  occupation  of 
Philadelphia.  Its  progress  marks  the  vicissitudes  of  the 
Revolutionary  struggle;  commenced  in  the  gloomy  winter 
and  half -famished  encampment  at  Valley  Forge,  in  1778, 
the  battles  of  Trenton,  Princeton,  and  Monmouth  intervened 
before  its  completion.  At  the  last  place  Washington  sug¬ 
gested  that  the  view  from  the  window  of  the  farmhouse 
opposite  to  which  he  was  sitting  would  form  a  desirable 
background.  Peale  adopted  the  idea,  and  represented  Mon¬ 
mouth  Court-house  and  a  party  of  Hessians  under  guard, 
marching  out  of  it.  *  The  picture  was  finished  at  Princeton, 
and  Nassau  Hall  is  a  prominent  object  in  the  background; 
but  Congress  adjourned  without  making  an  appropriation, 
and  it  remained  in  the  artist’s  hands.  Lafayette  desired 
a  copy  for  the  king  of  France;  and  Peale  executed  one  in 
1779,  which  was  sent  to  Paris:  but  the  misfortunes  of  the 
royal  family  occasioned  its  sale,  and  it  became  the  property 
of  the  Count  de  Menou,  who  brought  it  again  to  this  country, 
and  presented  it  to  the  National  Institute,  where  it  is  now 
preserved.  Chapman  made  two  copies  at  a  thousand  dollars 
each;  and  Dr.  Craik,  one  of  the  earliest  and  warmest  per¬ 
sonal  friends  of  Washington,  their  commissions  as  officers 
in  the  French  War  having  been  signed  on  the  same  day 
(1754),  declared  it  a  most  faithful  likeness  of  him  as  he 
appeared  in  the  prime  of  his  life.f 


*  MS.  Letter  of  Titian  R.  Peale  to  George  Livermore, 
Esq. 

f  Philadelphia,  Feb.  4.  —  His  Excellency  General 
Washington  set  off  from  this  city  to  join  the  army  in  New 
Jersey.  During  the  course  of  his  short  stay,  the  only  relief 
he  has  enjoyed  from  service  since  he  first  entered  it,  he  has 


Cife  of  U/asfyiQ<$toi) 


405 


There  is  a  tradition  in  the  Peale  family,  honorably  rep¬ 
resented  through  several  generations,  by  public  spirit  and 
artistic  gifts,  that  intelligence  of  one  of  the  most  important 
triumphs  of  the  American  arms  was  received  by  Washington 
in  a  dispatch  he  opened  while  sitting  to  Wilson  Peale  for 
a  miniature  intended  for  his  wife,  who  was  also  present. 
The  scene  occurred  one  fine  summer  afternoon;  and  there 
is  something  attractive  to  the  fancy  in  the  association  of  this 
group  quietly  occupied  in  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the 
arts  of  peace,  and  in  a  commemorative  act  destined  to  gratify 
conjugal  love  and  a  nation’s  pride,  with  the  progress  of  a 
war  and  the  announcement  of  a  victory  fraught  with  that 
nation’s  liberty  and  that  leader’s  eternal  renown. 

The  characteristic  traits  of  Peale’s  portraits  of  Washing¬ 
ton  now  at  the  National  Institute  and  Arlington  House,  and 
the  era  of  our  history  and  of  Washington’s  life  they  embalm, 
make  them  doubly  valuable  in  a  series  of  pictorial  illustra¬ 
tions,  each  of  which,  independent  of  the  degree  of  profes¬ 
sional  skill  exhibited,  is  essential  to  our  W  ashingtonian  gal¬ 
lery.  Before  Trumbull  and  Stuart  had  caught  from  the  living 
man  his  aspect  in  maturity  and  age,  the  form  knit  to  athletic 
proportions  by  self-denial  and  activity,  and  clad  in  the  garb 
of  rank  and  war,  and  the  countenance  open  with  truth  and 
grave  with  thought,  yet  rounded  with  the  contour  and  ruddy 
with  the  glow  of  early  manhood,  was  thus  genially  deline¬ 
ated  by  the  hand  of  a  comrade,  and  in  the  infancy  of  native 


been  honored  with  every  mark  of  esteem,  etc.  The  Council 
of  this  State,  being  desirous  of  having  his  picture  in  full 
length,  requested  his  sitting  for  that  purpose,  which  he 
politely  complied  with,  and  a  striking  likeness  was  taken 
by  Mr.  Peale,  of  this  city.  The  portrait  is  to  be  placed  in 
the  council  chamber.  Don  Juan  Marrailes,  the  Minister 
of  France,  has  ordered  five  copies,  four  of  which,  we  hear, 
are  to  be  sent  abroad. — “Penn.  Packet,”  Feb.  11,  1779. 
Peale’s  first  portrait  was  executed  for  Colonel  Alexander; 
his  last  is  now  in  the  Bryan  Gallery,  New  York.  He  painted 
one  in  1776  for  John  Hancock,  and  besides  that  for  New 
Jersey,  others  for  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland. 


406 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?ir)<$toi)  Iruir)<$ 


art.  Of  the  fourteen  portraits  by  Peale,  that  exhibiting 
Washington  as  a  Virginia  colonel  in  the  colonial  force  of 
Great  Britain  is  the  only  entire  portrait  before  the  Revolution 
extant.*  One  was  painted  for  the  College  of  New  Jersey, 
at  Princeton,  in  1780,  to  occupy  a  frame  in  which  the  por¬ 
trait  of  George  the  Third  had  been  destroyed  by  a  cannon 
ball  during  the  battle  at  that  place  on  the  3d  of  January, 
1777.  It  still  remains  in  the  possession  of  the  College,  and 
was  saved  fortunately  from  the  fire  which  a  few  years  ago 
consumed  Nassau  Hall.  Peale’s  last  portrait  of  Washington, 
executed  in  1783,  he  retained  until  his  death,  and  two  years 
since  it  was  sold  with  the  rest  of  the  collection  known  as  the 
14 Peale  Gallery,”  at  Philadelphia.  There  is  a  pencil  sketch 
also  by  this  artist,  framed  with  the  wood  of  the  tree  in  front 
of  the  famous  Chew’s  house,  around  which  centered  the 
battle  of  Germantown,  f 

A  few  octogenarians  in  the  city  of  brotherly  love  used 
to  speak,  not  many  years  since,  of  a  diminutive  family,  the 
head  of  which  manifested  the  sensitive  temperament,  if  not 
the  highest  capabilities  of  artistic  genius.  This  was  Robert 
Edge  Pine.  He  brought  to  America  the  earliest  cast  of  the 
Venus  de  Medici,  which  was  privately  exhibited  to  the  select 
few — the  manners  and  morals  of  the  Quaker  city  forbidding 
its  exposure  to  the  common  eye.  He  was  considered  a 
superior  colorist,  and  was  favorably  introduced  into  society 
in  Philadelphia  by  his  acknowledged  sympathy  for  the 
American  cause,  and  by  a  grand  project  such  as  was  after- 


*  A  miniature,  said  to  have  been  painted  in  1757,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-five,  has  been  engraved  for  Irving’s  Wash¬ 
ington. 

f  4 6 The  Editor  of  the  ‘Cincinnati  Enquirer’  was  lately 
shown  a  pencil  sketch  of  General  Washington,  taken  from 
life  by  Charles  Wilson  Peale,  in  the  year  1777.  It  was 
framed  from  a  part  of  the  elm-tree  then  standing  in  front 
of  Chew’s  house,  on  the  Germantown  battleground,  and  the 
frame  was  made  by  a  son  of  Dr.  Craley,  of  Revolutionary 
fame.” 


Cife  of  U/asfyir^toi) 


407 

ward  partially  realized  by  Trumbull;  that  of  a  series  of 
historical  paintings,  illustrative  of  the  American  Revolution, 
to  embrace  original  portraits  of  the  leaders,  both  civil  and 
military,  in  that  achievement,  including  the  statesmen  who 
were  chiefly  instrumental  in  framing  the  constitution  and 
organizing  the  government.  He  brought  a  letter  of  intro¬ 
duction  to  the  father  of  the  late  Judge  Hopkinson,  whose 
portrait  he  executed,  and  its  vivid  tints  and  correct  resem¬ 
blance  still  attest  to  his  descendants  the  ability  of  the  painter. 
He  left  behind  him  in  London  creditable  portraits  of  George 
the  Second,  Garrick,  and  the  Duke  of  Northumberland.  In 
the  intervals  of  his  business  as  a  teacher  of  drawing  and  a 
votary  of  portraiture  in  general,  he  collected,  from  time  to 
time,  a  large  number  of  “distinguished  heads,”  although, 
as  in  the  case  of  Ceracchi,  the  epoch  and  country  were  un¬ 
favorable  to  his  ambitious  project;  of  these  portraits  the 
heads  of  General  Gates,  Charles  Carroll,  Baron  Steuben,  and 
Washington  are  the  best  known  and  most  highly  prized. 
Pine  remained  three  weeks  at  Mount  Yernon,  and  his  por¬ 
trait  bequeaths  some  features  with  great  accuracy;  artists 
find  in  it  certain  merits  not  discoverable  in  those  of  a  later 
date ;  it  has  the  permanent  interest  of  a  representation  from 
life,  by  a  painter  of  established  reputation ;  yet  its  tone  is 
cold  and  its  effect  unimpressive,  beside  the  more  bold  and 
glowing  pencil  of  Stuart.  It  has  repose  and  dignity.  In 
his  letter  to  Washington,  asking  his  co-operation  in  the 
design  he  meditated,  Pine  says,  “I  have  been  some  time 
at  Annapolis,  painting  the  portraits  of  patriots,  legislators, 
heroes,  and  beauties,  in  order  to  adorn  my  large  picture;” 
and  he  seems  to  have  commenced  his  enterprise  with  san¬ 
guine  hopes  of  one  day  accomplishing  his  object,  which, 
however,  it  was  reserved  for  a  native  artist  eventually  to 
complete.  That  his  appeal  to  Washington  was  not  neglected, 
however,  is  evident  from  an  encouraging  allusion  to  Pine 
and  his  scheme,  in  the  correspondence  of  the  former.  “Mr. 
Pine,”  he  says,  “has  met  a  favorable  reception  in  this  coun¬ 
try,  and  may,  I  conceive,  command  as  much  business  as  he 


408 


U/orks  of  U/asfiir^tOQ  Iruiq$ 


pleases.  He  is  now  preparing  materials  for  historical  repre- 
sentations  of  the  most  important  events  of  the  war.  ’  ’  *  Pine’s 
picture  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Hopkinson  family  of  Phila¬ 
delphia.  The  facsimile  of  Washington’s  letter  proves  that 
it  was  taken  in  1785.  A  large  copy  was  purchased  at  Mont¬ 
real,  in  1817,  by  the  late  Henry  Brevoort,  of  New  York, 
and  is  now  in  the  possession  of  his  son,  J.  Carson  Brevoort, 
at  Bedford,  L.  I.  \ 

The  profile  likeness  of  Washington  by  Sharpless  is  a 
valuable  item  of  the  legacy  which  Art  has  bequeathed  of 
those  noble  and  benign  features ;  he  evidently  bestowed  upon 
it  his  greatest  skill,  and  there  is  no  more  correct  facial  out¬ 
line  of  the  immortal  subject  in  existence;  a  disciple  of 
Lavater  would  probably  find  it  the  most  available  side-view 
for  physiognomical  inference;  it  is  remarkably  adapted  to 
the  burin,  and  has  been  once,  at  least,  adequately  engraved; 
it  also  has  the  melancholy  attraction  of  being  the  last  portrait 
of  Washington  taken  from  life. 

One  of  Canova’s  fellow-workmen,  in  the  first  years  of 
his  artistic  life,  was  a  melancholy  enthusiast,  whose  thirst 
for  the  ideal  was  deepened  by  a  morbid  tenacity  of  purpose 
and  sensitiveness  of  heart — a  form  of  character  peculiar  in 
Italy;  in  its  voluptuous  phase  illustrated  by  Petrarch,  in  its 
stoical  by  Alfieri,  and  in  its  combination  of  patriotic  and 
tender  sentiments  by  Foscolo’s  “Letters  of  Jacopo  Ortis.” 
The  political  confusion  that  reigned  in  Europe  for  a  time 
seriously  interfered  with  the  pursuit  of  art;  and  this  was 
doubtless  a  great  motive  with  Giuseppe  Ceracchi  for 
visiting  America;  but  not  less  inciting  was  the  triumph  of 
freedom,  of  which  that  land  had  recently  become  the  scene 
— a  triumph  that  so  enlisted  the  sympathies  and  fired  the 
imagination  of  the  republican  sculptor,  that  he  designed  a 
grand  national  monument,  commemorative  of  American  In- 


*  Sparks’  Writings  of  Washington, 
t  This  portrait  is  now  in  the  engraver’s  hands  for  the 
illustrated  edition  of  this  work. 


Cife  of  U/asl?io<$tor) 


409 


dependence,  and  sought  the  patronage  of  the  newly  organ¬ 
ized  government  in  its  behalf.  Washington,  individually, 
favored  his  design,  and  the  model  of  the  proposed  work 
received  the  warm  approval  of  competent  judges;  but  taste 
for  art,  especially  for  grand  monumental  statuary,  was  quite 
undeveloped  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  and  the  recipient 
of  papal  orders  found  little  encouragement  in  a  young  re¬ 
public,  too  busy  in  laying  the  foundation  of  her  civil  polity 
to  give  much  thought  to  any  memorials  of  her  nascent  glory. 
It  was,  however,  but  a  question  of  time.  His  purpose  is 
even  now  in  the  process  of  achievement.  Washington’s 
native  State  voluntarily  undertook  the  enterprise  for  which 
the  general  government,  in  its  youth,  was  inadequate;  and 
it  was  auspiciously  reserved. for  a  native  artist,  and  a  single 
member  of  the  original  confederacy,  to  embody,  in  a  style 
worthy  of  more  than  Italian  genius,  the  grand  conception 
of  a  representative  monument,  with  Washington  in  a  colossal 
equestrian  statue  as  the  center,  and  the  Virginia  patriots  and 
orators  of  the  Revolution  grouped  around  his  majestic  figure. 
Cerrachi,  however,  in  aid  of  his  elaborate  project,  executed 
the  only  series  of  marble  portraitures  from  life  of  the  re¬ 
nowned  founders  of  the  national  government;  his  busts 
of  Hamilton,  Jay,  Trumbull,  and  Governor  George  Clinton, 
were  long  the  prominent  ornaments  of  the  Academy  of  Fine 
Arts,  in  New  York;  the  latter,  especially,  was  remarkable, 
both  in  regard  to  its  resemblance  to  the  original  and  as  a 
work  of  art.  His  most  important  achievement,  however, 
was  a  bust  of  Washington,  generally  considered  the  most 
perfect  representation  of  the  man  and  the  hero  combined, 
after  Stuart’s  and  Houdon’s  masterpieces.  It  is  in  the  heroic 
style,  with  a  fillet.  The  fate  of  this  valuable  effigy  was 
singular.  It  was  purchased  by  the  Spanish  embassador, 
as  a  gift  to  the  Prince  of  Peace,  then  at  the  height  of  his 
power  at  Madrid;  before  the  bust  reached  Spain,  Godoy 
was  exiled,  and  the  minister  recalled,  who,  on  his  arrival, 
transferred  it,  unpacked,  to  Richard  Meade,  Esq.,  of  Phila¬ 
delphia,  in  whose  family  it  remained  until  two  years  ago, 

Vol.  XV.—*  *  *  18 


410 


U/orl^s  of  U/asI?ir)$toi)  Iruip$ 


when,  at  the  administrators’  sale  of  that  gentleman’s  fine 
collection  of  paintings,  it  was  purchased  by  Gouverneur 
Kemble,  and  can  now  be  seen  at  his  hospitable  mansion, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson. 

The  zeal  of  Cerrachi  in  his  cherished  purpose  is  indicated 
by  the  assurance  he  gave  Dr.  Hugh  Williamson — the  his¬ 
torian  of  North  Carolina,  and  author  of  the  earliest  work 
on  the  American  climate,  and  one  of  the  first  advocates  of 
the  canal  policy — when  inviting  him  to  sit  for  his  bust,  that 
he  did  not  pay  him  the  compliment  in  order  to  secure  his 
vote  for  the  national  monument,  but  only  to  perpetuate  the 
“features  of  the  American  Cato.”  With  characteristic  em¬ 
phasis,  the  honest  doctor  declined,  on  the  ground  that  pos¬ 
terity  would  not  care  for  his  lineaments;  adding  that,  “if  he 
were  capable  of  being  lured  into  the  support  of  any  scheme 
whatever,  against  his  convictions  of  right,  wood,  and  not 
stone,  ought  to  be  the  material  of  his  image.”* 

Baffled,  as  Ceracchi  ultimately  was,  in  the  realization 
of  hopes  inspired  alike  by  his  ambition  as  a  sculptor  and  his 
love  of  republican  institutions,  he  carried  to  Europe  the  proud 
distinction  of  having  taken  the  initiative  in  giving  an  endur¬ 
ing  shape  to  the  revered  and  then  unfamiliar  features  of 
Washington.  He  executed  two  busts,  one  colossal,  a  cast 
of  which  was  long  in  the  New  York  Academy  of  Fine  Arts. 
Impoverished,  the  darling  scheme  of  his  life  frustrated  in 
America,  and  his  own  patriotic  hopes  crushed  by  the  victories 
of  Bonaparte  in  Italy,  and  his  rapid  advances  toward  imperial 
sway,  the  enthusiastic  artist  brooded,  with  intense  disap¬ 
pointment,  over  the  contrast  between  the  fresh  and  exuberant 
national  life  of  which  he  had  partaken  here,  and  the  vassal- 
age  to  which  Europe  was  again  reduced.  Napoleon  and 
Washington  stood  revealed,  as  it  were,  side  by  side — the 
selfish  aggrandizement  of  the  one,  who  trampled  on  humanity 
under  the  prestige  of  military  fame,  and  the  magnanimity 
of  the  other,  content  to  be  the  immaculate  agent  of  a  free 


•  Dr.  Hosack’s  Essays. 


Cife  of  U/as^ir^tor? 


411 


people,  after  sacrificing  all  for  their  welfare.  Imbued  with 
the  principles  and  a  witness  of  the  self-control  which  con¬ 
summated  our  Revolutionary  triumph,  Ceracchi  beheld,  with 
an  impatience  that  caution  only  restrained,  the  steady  and 
unscrupulous  encroachment  of  Bonaparte  on  all  that  is 
sacred  in  nationality  and  freedom.  Somewhat  of  the  deep 
indignation  and  the  sacrificial  will  that  nerved  the  hand  of 
Charlotte  Corday,  somewhat  of  the  fanaticism  that  moved 
the  student-assassin  of  Kotzebue,  and,  perhaps,  a  little  of 
the  vengeful  ire  of  Ravaillac,  at  length  kindled  the  Italian 
blood  of  the  sculptor.  He  became  one  of  the  most  deter¬ 
mined  secret  conspirators  against  the  now  established  usurper. 
The  memoirs  of  the  time  speak  of  his  “exaggerated  notions,” 
his  disdain  of  life,  of  the  profound  gloom  that  often  clouded 
his  soul,  of  the  tears  he  alternately  shed  of  admiration  at 
the  brilliant  exploits  of  the  conqueror,  and  of  grief  at  the 
wrongs  inflicted  on  the  beautiful  land  of  his  nativity.  “This 
man,”  says  one  fair  chronicler  of  those  exciting  times,  “has 
a  soul  of  fire.”  A  plot,  which  is  stigmatized  as  nefarious, 
and,  according  to  rumor,  was  of  the  Fieschi  stamp,  aimed 
at  the  life  of  Bonaparte,  when  First  Consul,  was  finally  dis¬ 
covered,  and  Ceracchi  became  legally  compromised  as  one 
of  those  pledged  to  its  execution.  He  was  tried,  boldly 
acknowledged  his  murderous  intention,  and  was  condemned 
to  death.  Among  his  fellow-conspirators  were  two  or  three 
republican  artists  with  whom  he  had  become  intimate  at 
Rome ;  they  were  arrested  at  the  opera,  and  daggers  found 
upon  their  persons:  the  plot  is  designated  in  the  annals  of 
the  time  as  the  Arena  Conspiracy.  Ceracchi  was  a  Corsican 
by  birth;  and,  from  an*  ardent  admirer,  thus  became  the 
deadly  foe  of  his  great  countryman ;  and  the  gifted  artist, 
the  enthusiastic  republican,  the  vindictive  patriot,  and  the 
sculptor  of  Washington — perished  on  the  scaffold. 

His  bust  gives  Washington  a  Roman  look,  but  has  been 
declared  to  exhibit  more  truly  the  expression  of  the  mouth 
than  any  other  work.  Those  of  Hamilton  and  Governor 
Clinton,  by  this  artist,  are  deemed,  by  their  respective  fam- 


412 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?ir><$toi)  Iruii)<$ 


ilies,  as  correct  as  portraits,  as  they  are  superior  as  pieces 
of  statuary.  And  this  is  presumptive  evidence  in  favor 
of  the  belief  that  Ceracchi’s  attachment  to  the  heroic  style 
did  not  seriously  interfere  with  the  general  truth  of  his  por¬ 
traiture. 

The  design  of  a  statue  was,  therefore,  only  realized  on 
the  arrival  of  Houdon.  The  history  of  this  sculptor  is  a 
striking  contrast  to  that  of  Ceracchi.  A  native  of  Versailles, 
he  flourished  at  an  epoch  remarkably  prolific  of  original 
characters  in  all  departments  of  letters  and  art.  Many  of 
these,  especially  his  own  countrymen,  have  been  represented 
by  his  chisel.  He  enjoyed  a  long  and  prosperous  existence, 
having  survived  the  taste  he  initiated,  and  the  friends  of  his 
youth,  but  maintaining  a  most  creditable  reputation  to  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  his  eighty-eighth  year.  He  rose 
to  distinction  by  a  new  style,  which  appears  to  have  exhibited, 
according  to  the  subject,  a  remarkable  simplicity  on  the  one 
hand,  and  elaboration  on  the  other.  An  overestimate  of  the 
effect  of  details  marred  his  more  labored  creations;  but  he 
had  a  faculty  of  catching  the  air,  and  a  taste  in  generalizing 
the  conception,  both  of  a  real  and  fanciful  subject,  which 
manifested  unusual  genius.  There  was  an  individuality 
about  his  best  works  that  won  attention  and  established  his 
fame.  Of  the  ideal  kind,  two  were  the  subjects  of  much 
critical  remark,  though  for  different  reasons.  One  of  them 
was  intended  to  exhibit  the  effect  of  cold — an  idea  almost 
too  melodramatic  and  physical  for  sculpture,  but  quite  in 
character  for  a  Frenchman,  aiming,  even  in  his  severe  and 
limited  art,  at  theatrical  effect.  The  other  was  a  statue  of 
Diana — the  object  of  numerous  bon  mots ,  first,  because  it 
was  ordered  by  Catharine  of  Russia,  who,  it  was  generally 
thought,  had  no  special  affinity  with  the  chaste  goddess; 
and,  secondly,  on  account  of  the  voluptuous  character  given 
it  by  the  artist,  which  procured  for  his  Diana  the  name  of 
Venus.  Houdon ’s  bust  of  Voltaire  gained  him  renown  at 
once  in  this  department  of  his  pursuit,  and  is  a  memorable 
example  of  his  success.  How  various  the  characters  whose 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii}<$toi? 


413 


similitudes  are  perpetuated  by  his  chisel— Gluck  and  Buffon, 
Rousseau  and  D’Alembert,  Mirabeau  and  Washington! 
Jefferson,  in  behalf  of  the  State  of  Virginia,  arranged  with 
Houdon  at  Paris  to  undertake  the  latter  commission;  and 
he  accompanied  Dr.  Franklin  to  the  United  States.  He 
remained  at  Mount  Vernon  long  enough  to  execute  a  model 
of  Washington’s  head,  and  familiarize  himself  with  every 
detail  of  his  features  and  the  traits  of  his  natural  language ; 
but  that  implicit  fidelity,  now  evident  in  the  busts  of  our 
own  leading  sculptors,  was  not  then  in  vogue,  and  the 
artists  of  the  day  were  rather  adepts  in  idealizing  than  in 
precise  imitation  of  nature;  therefore,  the  result  of  Houdon ’s 
labors,  though,  in  general,  satisfactory,  cannot  be  used  with 
the  mathematical  exactitude,  as  a  guide,  which  greater  atten¬ 
tion  to  minutiae  would  have  secured.  There  is  a  sketch  by 
Stuart  indicating  some  minute  errors  in  the  outline  of  Hou- 
don’s  bust.  On  leaving,  he  presented  Washington  with  the 
bass-relief  which  used  to  hang  over  his  chair  in  the  library 
at  Mount  Vernon.  He  completed  the  statue  after  his  return 
to  Paris,  and  in  the  diary  of  Gouverneur  Morris  is  an  entry 
noting  his  attendance  at  the  artist’s  studio,  to  stand  for  the 
figure  of  his  illustrious  friend,  whom,  before  he  became 
corpulent,  he  is  said  to  have  resembled.  He  alludes  to  the 
circumstance  as  “being  the  humble  employment  of  a  manni¬ 
kin;”  and  adds,  “this  is  literally  taking  the  advice  of  St. 
Paul  to  be  all  things  to  all  men.”  The  original  cast  of  the 
head  of  this  statue  is  still  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  the  statue 
itself  is  the  cherished  ornament  of  the  Capitol  at  Richmond, 
and  has  been  declared,  by  one  of  Washington’s  biographers, 
to  be  “as  perfect  a  resemblance,  in  face  and  figure,  as  the 
art  admits”;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  a  critic  of  large  and 
studious  observation,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  the 
appearance  of  the  original,  says  that,  as  a  likeness,  the  head 
is  inferior  to  Ceracchi’s  bust.  The  costume  is  authentic, 
that  Washington  wore  as  commander-in- chief ;  it  has  been 
assailed  with  the  usual  arguments — its  want  of  classical 
effect,  and  its  undignified  style;  but  less  conservative  rea- 


414 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?ir}<$t:oi)  Iruip$ 


soners  applaud  the  truth  of  the  drapery,  and  the  work  is 
endeared  as  a  faithful  and  unique  representation  of  the  man 
—the  only  one  from  life,  bequeathed  by  the  art  of  the  sculp¬ 
tor.  “Judge  Marshall,”  says  Dr.  Sparks  in  a  letter  to  us, 
“once  told  me  that  the  head  of  Houdon’s  statue  at  Rich- 
mond,  seen  at  a  point  somewhat  removed  toward  the  side, 
from  the  front,  presented  as  perfect  a  resemblance  of  the 
living  man  as  he  could  conceive  possible  in  marble.” 

Rembrandt  Peale,  when  quite  young,  became  the  com¬ 
panion  of  his  father’s  artistic  labors.  In  compliment  to  the 
latter,  Washington  sat  for  a  likeness  to  the  novice  of  eigh¬ 
teen,  who  says  the  honor  agitated  more  than  it  inspired  him, 
and  he  solicited  his  father’s  intercession  and  countenance 
on  the  memorable  occasion.  Of  the  precise  value  of  his 
original  sketch  it  is  difficult  to  form  an  accurate  opinion, 
but  the  mature  result  of  his  efforts  to  produce  a  portrait  of 
Washington  has  attained  a  high  and  permanent  fame.  He 
availed  himself  of  the  best  remembered  points,  and  always 
worked  with  Houdon’s  bust  before  him.  This  celebrated 
picture  is  the  favorite  portrait  of  a  large  number  of  ama¬ 
teurs.  It  is  more  dark  and  mellowed  in  tint,  more  elabo¬ 
rately  worked  up,  and,  in  some  respects,  more  effectively 
arranged,  than  any  of  its  predecessors.  Inclosed  in  an  oval 
of  well-imitated  stone  fretwork,  vigorous  in  execution,  rich 
in  color,  the  brow,  eyes,  and  mouth  full  of  character— alto¬ 
gether  it  is  a  striking  and  impressive  delineation.  That  it 
was  thus  originally  regarded  we  may  infer  from  the  unani¬ 
mous  resolution  of  the  U.  S.  Senate,  in  1832,  appropriating 
two  thousand  dollars  for  its  purchase,  and  from  the  numer¬ 
ous  copies  of  the  original,  in  military  costume,  belonging 
to  the  artist,  which  have  been  and  are  still  ordered.  Rem¬ 
brandt  Peale  is  said  to  be  the  only  living  artist  who  ever 
saw  Washington.  In  the  pamphlet  which  he  issued  to 
authenticate  the  work,  we  find  the  cordial  testimony  to  its 
fidelity  and  other  merits  of  Lawrence  Lewis,  the  eldest 
nephew  of  Washington ;  of  the  late  venerable  John  Vaughan, 
of  Bishop  White,  Rufus  King,  Charles  Carroll,  Edward 


Cife  of  U/ast?ir}<$toi} 


415 


Livingston,  General  Smith,  Dr.  James  Thacher,  and  Judge 
Cranch.  Chief-justice  Marshall  says  of  it:  “It  is  more 
Washington  himself  than  any  portrait  I  have  ever  seen;” 
and  Judge  Peters  explains  his  approval  by  declaring,  “I 
judge  from  its  effect  on  my  heart.” 


Fo  artist  enjoyed  the  opportunities  of  Colonel  Trum¬ 
bull  as  the  portrayer  of  Washington.  As  aid-de-camp  he 
was  familiar  with  his  appearance  in  the  prime  of  his  life  and 
its  most  exciting  era.  At  the  commencement  of  the  Revolu¬ 
tionary  struggle,  this  officer  was  among  the  most  active, 
and  essentially  promoted  the  secure  retreat  of  the  American 
forces,  under  General  Sullivan,  from  Rhode  Island;  he, 
therefore,  largely  partook  of  the  spirit  of  those  days,  came 
freely  under  the  influence  of  Washington’s  character  as  it 
pervaded  the  camp,  and  had  ample  time  and  occasion  to 
observe  the  commander-in-chief  in  his  military  aspect,  and 
in  social  intercourse,  on  horseback,  in  the  field,  and  at  the 
hospitable  board,  in  the  councils  of  war,  when  silently  medi¬ 
tating  his  great  work,  when  oppressed  with  anxiety,  ani¬ 
mated  by  hope,  or  under  the  influence  of  those  quick  and 
strong  feelings  he  so  early  learned  to  subdue.  After  Trum¬ 
bull’s  resignation,  and  when  far  away  from  the  scene  of 
Washington’s  glory,  he  painted  his  head  from  recollection, 
so  distinctly  was  every  feature  and  expression  impressed 
upon  his  mind.  In  the  autumn  of  1789  he  returned  from 
Europe,  and  began  his  sketches  of  the  chiefs  and  statesmen 
of  the  Revolution,  afterward  embodied  in  the  pictures  that 
adorn  the  rotunda  of  the  Capitol,  and  the  originals  of  which, 
invaluable  for  their  authenticity,  may  now  be  seen  in  the 
gallery  at  Few  Haven.  Here  is  preserved  the  most  spirited 
portrait  of  Washington  that  exists — the  only  reflection  of 
him  as  a  soldier  of  freedom  worthy  of  the  name,  drawn  from 
life.  The  artist’s  own  account  of  this  work  is  given  in  his 
memoirs:  “In  1792  I  was  again  in  Philadelphia,  and  there 
painted  the  portrait  of  General  Washington,  now  placed  in 


416 


U/orl^s  of  W astyvQtoT)  Iruii)$ 


the  gallery  at  New  Haven,  the  best,  certainly,  of  those  that 
I  painted,  and  the  best,  in  my  estimation,  which  exists  in 
his  heroic  and  military  character.  The  city  of  Charleston, 
S.  C.,  instructed  Mr.  W.  R.  Smith,  one  of  the  representatives 
of  South  Carolina,  to  employ  me  to  paint  for  them  a  portrait 
of  the  great  man,  and  I  undertook  it  con  amore,  as  the 
commission  was  unlimited,  meaning  to  give  his  military 
character  at  the  most  sublime  moment  of  its  exertion — the 
evening  previous  to  the  battle  of  Trenton,  when,  viewing 
the  vast  superiority  of  his  approaching  enemy,  the  impossi¬ 
bility  of  again  crossing  the  Delaware  or  retreating  down  the 
river,  he  conceives  the  plan  of  returning  by  a  night  march 
into  the  country  from  which  he  had  been  driven,  thus  cut¬ 
ting  off  the  enemy’s  communication  and  destroying  the 
depot  of  stores  at  Brunswick.”  There  is  a  singular  felicity 
in  this  choice  of  the  moment  to  represent  Washington,  for 
it  combines  all  the  most  desirable  elements  of  expression 
characteristic  of  the  man.  It  is  a  moment,  not  of  brilliant 
achievement,  but  of  intrepid  conception,  when  the  dignity 
of  thought  is  united  with  the  sternness  of  resolve,  and  the 
enthusiasm  of  a  daring  experiment  kindles  the  habitual  mood 
of  self-control  into  an  unwonted  glow.  As  the  artist  un¬ 
folded  his  design  to  Washington,  the  memory  of  that  event¬ 
ful  night  thrilled  him  anew ;  he  rehearsed  the  circumstances, 
described  the  scene,  and  his  face  was  lighted  up  as  the 
memorable  crisis  in  his  country’s  fate  and  his  own  career 
was  renewed  before  him.  He  spoke  of  the  desperate  chance, 
the  wild  hope,  and  the  hazardous  but  fixed  determination 
of  that  hour;  and,  as  the  gratified  painter  declares,  “looked 
the  scene.”  “The  result,”  he  says,  “was,  in  my  own  opin¬ 
ion,  eminently  successful,  and  the  General  was  satisfied.” 
Whether  the  observer  of  the  present  day  accedes  to  the 
opinion,  that  he  “happily  transferred  to  the  canvas  the 
lofty  expression  of  his  animated  countenance,  the  resolve 
to  conquer  or  perish”;  whether  the  picture  comes  up  to  his 
preconceived  ideal  of  the  heroic  view  of  Washington  or  not, 
he  must  admit  that  it  combines  great  apparent  fidelity, 


Cife  of  U/asf?ii?<$tor>  417 

with  more  spirit  and  the  genius  of  action,  than  all  other 
portraits. 

Although  not  so  familiar  as  Stuart’s,  numerous  good 
copies  of  Trumbull’s  Washington,  some  from  his  own,  and 
others  by  later  pencils,  have  rendered  it  almost  as  well 
known  in  this  country.  Contemporaries  give  it  a  decided 
preference;  it  recalled  the  leader  of  the  American  armies, 
the  man  who  was  “first  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen,” 
ere  age  relaxed  the  facial  muscles  and  modified  the  decisive 
lines  of  the  mouth ;  it  was  associated  in  their  minds  with  the 
indignant  rebuke  at  Monmouth,  the  brilliant  surprise  at 
Trenton,  and  the  heroic  patience  at  Valley  Forge;  it  was 
the  Washington  of  their  youth  who  led  the  armies  of  free¬ 
dom,  the  modest,  the  brave,  the  vigilant  and  triumphant 
chief.  Ask  an  elderly  Knickerbocker  what  picture  will  give 
you  a  good  idea  of  Washington,  and  he  will  confidently  refer 
you,  as  the  testimony  his  father  has  taught  him,  to  Trum¬ 
bull’s  portrait  in  the  City  Hall.  When  Lafayette  first  beheld 
a  copy  of  this  picture,  in  a  gentleman’s  house  in  Hew  Jersey, 
on  his  visit  to  this  country,  a  few  years  before  his  death, 
he  uttered  an  exclamation  of  delight  at  its  resemblance.  An 
excellent  copy,  by  Vanderlyn,  adorns  the  U.  S.  House  of 
Representatives,  for  the  figure  in  which,  Geo.  B.  Rapalye, 
Esq.,  a  highly  respected  citizen  of  Few  York,  stood  with 
exemplary  patience,  for  many  days,  wearing  a  coat,  perhaps 
the  first  specimen  of  American  broadcloth,  that  had  been 
worn  by  Washington.  The  air  of  the  figure  is  as  manly 
and  elegant,  the  look  as  dignified  and  commanding,  and  the 
brow  as  practical  in  its  molding,  as  in  Stuart’s  representa¬ 
tion  of  him  at  a  more  advanced  period ;  but  the  face  is  less 
round,  the  profile  more  aquiline,  the  complexion  has  none 
of  the  fresh  and  ruddy  hue,  and  the  hair  is  not  yet  blanched. 
It  is,  altogether,  a  keener,  more  active,  less  thoughtful,  but 
equally  graceful  and  dignified  man.  He  stands  in  an  easy 
attitude,  in  full  uniform,  with  his  hand  on  his  horse’s  neck; 
and  the  most  careless  observer,  though  ignorant  of  the  sub¬ 
ject,  would  recognize,  at  a  glance,  the  image  of  a  brave  man, 


418 


U/orks  of  U/asbffi^toi)  Iruir)<$ 


an  intelligent  officer,  and  an  honorable  gentleman.  The 
excellent  engraving  of  Durand  has  widely  disseminated 
Trumbull’s  spirited  head  of  Washington. 

Although  the  concurrent  testimony  of  those  best  fitted 
to  judge  give  the  palm  to  Trumbull’s  portrait,  now  in  the 
gallery  at  New  Haven,  as  the  most  faithful  likeness  of 
Washington  in  his  prime,  this  praise  seems  to  refer  rather 
to  the  general  expression  and  air  than  to  the  details  of  the 
face.  Trumbull  often  failed  in  giving  a  satisfactory  like¬ 
ness;  he  never  succeeded  in  rendering  the  complexion,  as 
is  obvious  by  comparing  that  of  his  picture  in  the  New  York 
City  Hall  with  any  or  all  of  Stuart’s  heads;  the  former  is 
yellow,  and  gives  the  idea  of  a  bilious  temperament,  while 
the  latter,  in  every  instance,  have  the  florid,  ruddy  tint 
which,  we  are  assured,  was  characteristic  of  Washington, 
and  indicative  of  his  active  habits,  constant  exposure  to  the 
elements,  and  Saxon  blood.  The  best  efforts  of  Trumbull 
were  his  first,  careful  sketches;  he  never  could  elaborate 
with  equal  effect;  the  collection  of  small,  original  heads, 
from  which  his  historical  pictures  were  drawn,  are  invalu¬ 
able,  as  the  most  authentic  resemblances  in  existence  of  our 
Revolutionary  heroes.  They  have  a  genuine  look  and  a 
spirited  air  seldom  discoverable  in  the  enlarged  copies. 

“Washington,”  says  Trumbull,  in  describing  the  picture, 
“is  represented  standing  on  elevated  ground,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  creek  at  Trenton,  a  little  below  the  stone-bridge 
and  mill.  He  has  a  reconnoitering  glass  in  his  hand,  with 
which  he  is  supposed  to  have  been  examining  the  strength 
of  the  hostile  army,  pouring  into  and  occupying  Trenton, 
which  he  has  just  abandoned  at  their  appearance;  and,  hav¬ 
ing  ascertained  their  great  superiority,  as  well  in  numbers 
as  discipline,  he  is  supposed  to  have  been  meditating  how 
to  avoid  the  apparently  impending  ruin,  and  to  have  just 
formed  the  plan  which  he  executed  during  the  night.  This 
led  to  the  splendid  success  at  Princeton  on  the  following 
morning;  and,  in  the  estimation  of  the  great  Frederick, 
placed  his  military  character  on  a  level  with  that  of  the 


Cife  of  U/a8^ip<$top 


419 


greatest  commanders  of  ancient  or  modern  times.  Behind, 
and  near,  an  attendant  holds  his  horse.  Every  minute 
article  of  dress,  down  to  the  buttons  and  spurs,  and  the 
buckles  and  straps  of  the  horse  furniture,  were  carefully 
painted  from  the  different  objects.” 

The  gentleman  who  was  the  medium  of  this  commission 
to  Trumbull,  praised  his  work;  but  aware  of  the  popular 
sentiment,  declared  it  not  calm  and  peaceful  enough  to 
satisfy  those  for  whom  it  was  intended.  With  reluctance, 
the  painter  asked  Washington,  overwhelmed  as  he  was  with 
official  duty,  to  sit  for  another  portrait,  which  represents  him 
in  his  every-day  aspect,  and,  therefore,  better  pleased  the 
citizens  of  Charleston.  “Keep  this  picture,”  said  Washing¬ 
ton  to  the  artist,  speaking  of  the  first  experiment,  “and  finish 
it  to  your  own  taste.”  When  the  Connecticut  State  Society 
of  Cincinnati  dissolved,  a  few  of  the  members  purchased 
it  as  a  gift  to  Yale  College. 

Gilbert  Stuart’s  most  cherished  anticipation  when  he 
left  England  for  America  was  that  of  executing  a  portrait 
of  Washington.  A  consummate  artist  in  a  branch  which 
his  own  triumphs  had  proved  could  be  rendered  of  the  high¬ 
est  interest,  he  eagerly  sought  illustrious  subjects  for  his 
pencil.  This  enthusiasm  was  increased,  in  the  present  case, 
by  the  unsullied  fame  and  the  exalted  European  reputation 
of  the  American  hero,  by  the  greatest  personal  admiration 
of  his  character,  and  by  the  fact  that  no  satisfactory  repre¬ 
sentation  existed  abroad  of  a  man  whose  name  was  identical 
with  more  than  Roman  patriotism  and  magnanimity.  Stuart, 
by  a  series  of  masterly  portraits,  had  established  his  renown 
in  London,  he  had  mingled  in  the  best  society ;  his  vigorous 
mind  was  cognizant  of  all  the  charms  that  wit  and  acumen 
lend  to  human  intercourse,  and  he  knew  the  power  which 
genius  and  will  may  so  readily  command.  His  own  nature 
was  more  remarkable  for  strength  than  refinement ;  he  was 
eminently  fitted  to  appreciate  practical  talents  and  moral 
energy;  the  brave  truth  of  nature,  rather  than  her  more 
delicate  effects,  were  grasped  and  reproduced  by  his  skill; 


420 


ll/orl^s  of  U/asbii)<$toi)  Iruii)$ 


he  might  not  have  done  justice  to  the  ideal  contour  of  Shel¬ 
ley,  or  the  gentle  features  of  Mary  of  Scotland,  but  could 
have  perfectly  reflected  the  dormant  thunder  of  Mirabeau’s 
countenance,  and  the  argumentative  abstraction  that  knit 
the  brows  of  Samuel  Johnson.  He  was  a  votary  of  truth 
in  her  boldest  manifestations,  and  a  delineator  of  character 
in  its  normal  and  sustained  elements.  The  robust,  the  vener¬ 
able,  the  moral  picturesque,  the  mentally  characteristic,  he 
seized  by  intuition ;  those  lines  of  physiognomy  which  chan¬ 
neled  by  will  the  map  of  inward  life,  which  years  of  consist¬ 
ent  thought  and  action  trace  upon  the  countenance,  the  hue 
that,  to  an  observant  eye,  indicates  almost  the  daily  vocation, 

'  the  air  suggestive  of  authority  or  obedience,  firmness  or 
vacillation,  the  glance  of  the  eye,  which  is  the  measure 
of  natural  intelligence  and  the  temper  of  the  soul,  the  expres¬ 
sion  of  the  mouth  that  infallibly  betrays  the  disposition,  the 
tint  of  hair  and  mold  of  features,  not  only  attesting  the  period 
of  life  but  revealing  what  that  life  has  been,  whether  toil¬ 
some  or  inert,  self-indulgent  or  adventurous,  careworn  or 
pleasurable — these,  and  such  as  these  records  of  humanity, 
Stuart  transferred,  in  vivid  colors  and  most  trustworthy  out¬ 
lines,  to  the  canvas.  Instinctive,  therefore,  was  his  zeal  to 
delineate  W ashington ;  a  man  who,  of  all  the  sons  of  fame, 
most  clearly  and  emphatically  wrote  his  character  in  deeds 
upon  the  world’s  heart,  whose  traits  required  no  imagination 
to  give  them  effect  and  no  metaphysical  insight  to  unravel 
their  perplexity,  but  were  brought  out  by  the  exigencies  of 
the  time  in  distinct  relief,  as  bold,  fresh,  and  true  as  the 
verdure  of  spring  and  the  lights  of  the  firmament,  equally 
recognized  by  the  humblest  peasant  and  the  most  gifted 
philosopher. 

To  trace  the  history  of  each  of  Stuart’s  portraits  of  "W  ash¬ 
ington  would  prove  of  curious  interest.  One  of  his  letters 
to  a  relative,  dated  the  second  of  November,  1794,  enables 
us  to  fix  the  period  of  the  earliest  experiment.  “The  object 
of  my  journey,”  he  says,  “is  only  to  secure  a  portrait  of  the 
President  and  finish  yours.”  One  of  the  succeeding  pictures 


Cife  of  U/asl?fi)$toi) 


421 


was  bought  from  the  artist’s  studio  by  Mr.  Tajdoe,  of  Yfash- 
ington,  and  is,  at  present,  owned  by  his  son,  B.  Ogle  Tayloe, 
Esq. ;  another  was  long  in  the  possession  of  Madison,  and 
is  now  in  that  of  Governor  E.  Coles,  of  Philadelphia.  The 
full-length,  in  the  Presidential  mansion,  at  the  seat  of  gov¬ 
ernment,  was  saved  through  the  foresight  and  care  of  the 
late  Mrs.  Madison,  when  the  city  was  taken  by  the  British 
in  the  last  war.  Stuart,  however,  always  denied  that  this 
copy  was  by  him.  Another  portrait  of  undoubted  authen¬ 
ticity  was  offered  to  and  declined  by  Congress,  a  few  years 
ago,  and  is  owned  by  a  Boston  gentleman;  and  one  graced 
the  hospitable  dwelling  of  Samuel  Williams,  the  London 
banker.  For  a  long  period  artistic  productions  on  this  side 
of  the  water  were  subjects  of  ridicule.  Tudor  not  inaptly 
called  the  New  England  country  meeting-houses  4 ‘wooden 
lanterns”;  almost  every  town  boasted  an  architectural  mon¬ 
strosity  popularly  known  as  somebody’s  “folly”;  the  rows 
of  legs  in  Trumbull’s  picture  of  the  Signing  of  the  Declara¬ 
tion  obtained  for  it  the  sarcastic  name,  generally  ascribed 
to  John  Randolph,  of  “the  shin  piece”;  and  Stuart’s  full- 
length,  originally  painted  for  Lord  Lansdowne,  with  one 
arm  resting  on  his  sword-hilt,  and  the  other  extended,  was 
distinguished  among  artists  by  the  title  of  the  “tea-pot  por¬ 
trait,”  from  the  resemblance  of  the  outline  to  the  handle 
and  spout  of  that  domestic  utensil.  The  feature,  usually 
exaggerated  in  poor  copies,  and  the  least  agreeable  in  the 
original,  is  the  mouth,  resulting  from  the  want  of  support 
of  those  muscles  consequent  on  the  loss  of  teeth,  a  defect 
which  Stuart  vainly  attempted  to  remedy  by  inserting  cotton 
between  the  jaw  and  the  lips;  and  Wilson  Peale  more  per¬ 
manently,  but  not  less  ineffectually,  sought  to  relieve  by  a 
set  of  artificial  teeth. 

We  have  seen,  in  western  New  York,  a  cabinet  head  of 
Washington  which  bears  strong  evidence  of  Stuart’s  pencil, 
and  is  traced  directly  by  its  present  owner  to  his  hand,  which 
was  purchased  of  the  artist  and  presented  to  Mr.  Gilbert, 
a  member  of  Congress  from  Columbia  County,  New  York, 


422 


ll/or^s  of  U/asl?iQ$tor)  Iruii)$ 


a  gentleman  who  held  the  original  in  such  veneration  that 
he  requested,  on  his  death-bed,  to  have  the  picture  exhibited 
to  his  fading  gaze,  as  it  was  the  last  object  he  desired  to 
behold  on  earth.  The  remarks  of  the  latter  artist  indicate 
what  a  study  he  made  of  his  illustrious  sitter:  “There  were,” 
he  said,  “features  in  his  face  totally  different  from  what  he 
had  observed  in  any  other  human  being;  the  sockets  of  the 
eyes,  for  instance,  were  larger  than  what  he  ever  met  with 
before,  and  the  upper  part  of  the  nose  broader.  All  his  feat¬ 
ures  were  indicative  of  the  strongest  passions;  yet,  like 
Socrates,  his  judgment  and  great  self-command  made  him 
appear  a  man  of  a  different  cast  in  the  eyes  of  the  world.” 
The  color  of  his  eyes  was  a  light  grayish  blue,  but  according 
to  Mr.  Custis,  Stuart  painted  them  of  a  deeper  blue,  saying, 
“in  a  hundred  years  they  will  have  faded  to  the  right  color.” 

While  Congress  was  in  session  at  Philadelphia,  in  1794, 
Stuart  went  thither  with  a  letter  of  introduction  to  Wash¬ 
ington  from  John  Jay.  He  first  met  his  illustrious  subject 
on  a  reception  evening,  and  was  spontaneously  accosted  by 
him  with  a  greeting  of  dignified  urbanity.  Familiar  as  was 
the  painter  with  eminent  men,  he  afterward  declared  that 
no  human  being  ever  awakened  in  him  the  sentiment  of 
reverence  to  such  a  degree.  For  a  moment,  he  lost  his  self- 
possession — with  him  an  experience  quite  unprecedented — 
and  it  was  not  until  several  interviews  that  he  felt  himself 
enough  at  home  with  his  sitter  to  give  the  requisite  concen¬ 
tration  of  mind  to  his  work.  This  was  owing  not  less  to  the 
personal  impressiveness  of  Washington— which  all  who  came 
in  contact  with  him  felt  and  acknowledged —than  to  the 
profound  respect  and  deep  interest  which  the  long  antici¬ 
pations  of  the  artist  had  fostered  in  his  own  mind.  He 
failed,  probably  from  this  cause,  in  his  first  experiment. 
No  portrait-painter  has  left  such  a  reputation  for  the  faculty 
of  eliciting  expression  by  his  social  tact,  as  Stuart.  He 
would  even  defer  his  task  upon  any  pretext  until  he  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  making  the  sitter,  as  he  said,  “look  like  himself.” 
To  induce  a  natural,  unconscious,  and  characteristic  mood, 


.  Cife  of  U/asl?ii)$toi} 


423 


was  his  initiative  step  in  the  execution  of  a  portrait.  Innu¬ 
merable  are  the  anecdotes  of  his  ingenuity  and  persistence  in 
carrying  out  this  habit.  More  or  less  conversant  with  every 
topic  of  general  interest,  and  endowed  with  rare  conversa¬ 
tional  ability  and  knowledge  of  character,  he  seldom  failed 
to  excite  the  ruling  passion,  magnetize  the  prominent  idiosyn¬ 
crasy,  or  awaken  the  professional  interest  of  the  occupant 
of  his  throne,  whether  statesman,  farmer,  actor,  judge,  or 
merchant;  and  his  fund  of  good  stories,  narrated  with  dra¬ 
matic  effect,  by  enchaining  the  attention  or  enlisting  the  sym¬ 
pathies,  usually  made  the  delighted  listener  self-oblivious 
and  demonstrative,  when,  with  an  alertness  and  precision 
like  magic,  the  watchful  limner  transferred  the  vital  identity 
of  his  pre-occupied  and  fascinated  subject,  with  almost 
breathing  similitude.  In  "Washington,  however,  he  found 
a  less  flexible  character  upon  which  to  scintillate  his  wit 
and  open  his  anecdotical  battery.  Facility  of  adaptation 
seldom  accompanies  great  individuality;  and  a  man  whose 
entire  life  has  been  oppressed  with  responsibility,  and  in 
whom  the  prevalent  qualities  are  conscience  and  good  sense, 
can  scarcely  be  expected  to  possess  humor  and  geniality  in 
the  same  proportion  as  self-control  and  reflection.  On  the 
professional  themes  of  agriculture  and  military  science, 
Washington  was  always  ready  to  converse,  if  not  with 
enthusiasm,  at  least  in  an  attentive  and  intelligent  strain; 
but  the  artillery  of  repartee,  and  the  sallies  of  fancy,  made 
but  a  slight  impression  upon  his  grave  and  reserved  nature. 
He  was  deficient  in  language — far  more  a  man  of  action  than 
of  words — and  had  been  obliged  to  think  too  much  on  .vast 
interests,  to  “carry  America  in  his  brain,”  as  one  of  his  eulo¬ 
gists  has  aptly  said,  to  readily  unbend  in  colloquial  diversion. 
By  degrees,  however,  the  desirable  relation  was  established 
between  himself  and  the  artist,  who,  of  several  portraits, 
justly  gave  the  preference  to  the  Lansdowne  picture  and  the 
unfinished  one  now  possessed  by  the  Boston  Athenseum. 
They,  doubtless,  are  the  most  perfect  representations  of 
Washington,  as  he  looked  at  the  time  they  were  executed, 


424 


U/orl^s  of  U/as^iQ^top  Injip<$ 


and  will  ever  be  the  standards  and  resource  of  subsequent 
delineators.  The  latter,  supposed  by  many  to  have  been  his 
original  “study,”  engaged  his  attention  for  months.  The 
freshness  of  color,  the  studious  modeling  of  the  brow,  the 
mingling  of  clear  purpose  and  benevolence  in  the  eye,  and 
a  thorough  nobleness  and  dignity  in  the  whole  head,  realize 
all  the  most  intelligent  admirer  of  the  original  has  imagined 
— not,  indeed,  when  thinking  of  him  as  the  intrepid  leader 
of  armies,  but  in  the  last  analysis  and  complete  image  of  the 
hero  in  retirement,  in  all  the  consciousness  of  a  sublime 
career,  unimpeachable  fidelity  to  a  national  trust,  and  the 
eternal  gratitude  of  a  free  people.  It  is  this  masterpiece 
of  Stuart  that  has  not  only  perpetuated,  but  distributed  over 
the  globe  the  resemblance  of  W ashington.  It  has  been  some¬ 
times  lamented  that  so  popular  a  work  does  not  represent 
him  in  the  aspect  of  a  successful  warrior,  or  in  the  flush  of 
youth;  but  there  seems  to  be  a  singular  harmony  between 
this  venerable  image — so  majestic,  benignant,  and  serene — 
and  the  absolute  character  and  peculiar  example  of  W ashing¬ 
ton,  separated  from  what  was  purely  incidental  and  contin¬ 
gent  in  his  life.  Self-control,  endurance,  dauntless  courage, 
loyalty  to  a  just  but  sometimes  desperate  cause,  hope  through 
the  most  hopeless  crisis,  and  a  tone  of  feeling  the  most  ex¬ 
alted,  united  to  habits  of  candid  simplicity,  are  better  embod¬ 
ied  in  such  a  calm,  magnanimous,  mature  image,  full  of 
dignity  and  sweetness,  than  if  portrayed  in  battle  array, 
or  melodramatic  attitude.  Let  such  pictures  as  David’s 
Napoleon— with  prancing  steed,  flashing  eye,  and  waving 
sword — represent  the  mere  victor  and  military  genius;  but 
he  who  spurned  a  crown,  knew  no  watchword  but  duty,  no 
goal  but  freedom  and  justice,  and  no  reward  but  the  approval 
of  conscience  and  the  gratitude  of  a  country,  lives  more  ap¬ 
propriately,  both  to  memory  and  in  art,  under  the  aspect 
of  a  finished  life,  crowned  with  the  harvest  of  honor  and 
peace,  and  serene  in  the  consummation  of  disinterested 
purpose. 

A  letter  of  Stuart’s  which  appeared  in  the  New  York 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii}<$fcor) 


425 


‘‘Evening  Post,”  in  1853,*  attested  by  three  gentlemen  of 
Boston,  with  one  from  Washington  making  the  appointment 
for  a  sitting,  proves,  the  error  long  current  in  regard  both  to 
the  dates  and  the  number  of  this  artist’s  original  portraits. 
He  there  distinctly  states  that  he  never  executed  but  three 
from  life,  the  first  of  which  was  so  unsatisfactory  that  he  de¬ 
stroyed  it ;  the  second  was  the  picture  for  Lord  Lansdowne ; 
and  the  third,  the  one  now  belonging  to  the  Boston  Athenaeum. 
Of  these  originals  he  made  twenty-six  copies.  The  finishing 
touches  were  put  to  the  one  in  September,  1795,  and  to  the 
other,  at  Philadelphia,  in  the  spring  of  1796.  This  last,  it 
appears  by  a  letter  of  Mr.  Custis,  which  we  have  examined, 
was  undertaken  against  the  desire  of  Washington,  and  at 
the  earnest  solicitation  of  his  wife,  who  wished  a  portrait 


*  Extract  from  article  in  N.  Y.  Evening  Post ,  March 
15  th,  1853: 

It  may  set  this  question  at  rest  to  state  that  Stuart  him¬ 
self  has  given  an  account  of  all  the  portraits  of  Washington 
that  he  painted. 

A  gentleman  of  Philadelphia  has  in  his  possession  the 
originals  of  the  following  documents.  [Edit.  Post .] — 

Sir — I  am  under  promise  to  Mrs.  Bingham,  to  sit  for  you 
to-morrow  at  nine  o’clock,  and  wishing  to  know  if  it  be  con¬ 
venient  to  you  that  I  should  do  so,  and  whether  it  shall  be  at 
your  own  house  (as  she  talked  of  the  State  House),  I  send 
this  note  to  you  to  ask  information. 

I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servt, 

GEO.  WASHINGTON. 

Monday  Evening,  11th  April ,  1796. 

This  letter  was  indorsed  in  Washington’s  handwriting — ° 
“Mr.  Stuart,  Chestnut  Street.”  At  the  foot  of  the  manu¬ 
script  are  the  following  certificates : 

In  looking  over  my  papers  to  find  one  that  had  the  signa¬ 
ture  of  George  Washington,  I  found  this,  asking  me  when 
he  should  sit  for  his  portrait,  which  is  now  owned  by  Samuel 
Williams,  of  London.  I  have  thought  it  proper  it  should  be 
his,  especially  as  he  owns  the  only  original  painting  1  ever 


426 


U/orl^s  of  U/asbip<$tor)  Irufi7<J 


from  life  of  her  illustrious  husband,  to  be  placed  among  the 
other  family  pictures  at  Mount  Vernon.  For  this  express 
purpose,  and  to  gratify  her,  the  artist  commenced  the  work, 
and  Washington  agreed  to  sit  once  more.  It  was  left,  inten¬ 
tionally,  unfinished,  and  when  subsequently  claimed  by  Mr. 
Custis,  who  offered  a  premium  upon  the  original  price,  Stuart 
excused  himself,  much  to  the  former’s  dissatisfaction,  on  the 
plea  that  it  was  a  requisite  legacy  for  his  children.  Simul¬ 
taneously  with  the  Lansdowne  portrait  the  artist  executed 
for  William  Constable  that  now  in  the  possession  of  his  grand¬ 
son,  Henry  E.  Pierrepont,  Esq.,  of  Brooklyn,  L.  I.  Motives 
of  personal  friendship  induced  the  artist  to  exert  his  best  skill 
in  this  instance ;  it  is  a  facsimile  of  its  prototype,  and  the  ex¬ 
pression  has  been  thought  even  more  noble  and  of  higher  sig¬ 
nificance,  more  in  accordance  with  the  traditional  character 


made  of  Washington,  except  one  I  own  myself.  I  painted  a 
third,  but  rubbed  it  out.  I  now  present  this  to  his  brother, 
Timo  Williams,  for  said  Samuel. 

Boston,  9 th  of  March,  1823.  GT.  STUART. 

Attest— J.  P.  Davis. 

W.  Dutton. 

L.  Baldwin. 

N.B. — Mr.  Stuart  painted  in  ye  winter  season  his  first 
portrait  of  Washington,  but  destroyed  it.  The  next  paint¬ 
ing  was  ye  one  owned  by  S.  Williams;  the  third  Mr.  S.  now 
has — two  only  remain,  as  above  stated.  T.  W. 

The  picture  alluded  to  in  the  above  note  of  the  late  Timo 
Williams,  as  being  then  in  Mr.  Stuart’s  possession,  is  the  one 
now  in  the  Boston  Athenaeum ;  and  that  which  belonged  to 
the  late  Samuel  Williams,  Esq.,  alluded  to  in  Mr.  Stuart’s 
note  above  quoted,  is  yet  extant  and  owned  by  the  son  of  an 
American  gentleman  ( John  D.  Lewis ,  Esq.),  who  died  in 
London  some  years  since,  where  it  still  remains.  Mr.  W  il- 
liams  had  paid  for  it  at  the  sale  of  the  personal  effects  of  the 
Marquis  of  Lansdowne — to  whom  it  was  originally  presented 
by  Mr.  Bingham,  of  Philadelphia — two  thousand  guineas. 

It  is  this  portrait,  full  length  and  life  size,  from  which  the 
bad  engraving  was  made  by  Heath,  so  many  copies  of  which 
are  still  to  be  seen  in  this  country. 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii)<2toi) 


427 


of  the  subject,  than  the  Athenaeum  picture.  It  has  the  eyes 
looking  off,  and  not  at  the  spectator,  as  in  the  latter.  Mr. 
Constable,  the  original  proprietor,  was  aid  to  General  Wash¬ 
ington;  and  when  Lafayette  visited  this  country  in  1824, 
upon  entering  the  drawing-room  at  Brooklyn  Heights,  where 
the  picture  hangs,  he  exclaimed,  4 ‘That  is  my  old  friend,  in¬ 
deed  !”  Colonel  Nicholson  Fish  and  General  Van  Rensselaer 
joined  in  attesting  the  superior  excellence  of  the  likeness. 

The  usual  objection  to  Stuart’s  Washington  is  a  certain 
feebleness  about  the  lines  of  the  mouth,  which  does  not  cor¬ 
respond  with  the  distinct  outline  of  the  frontal  region,  the 
benign  yet  resolved  eye,  and  the  harmonious  dignity  of  the 
entire  head;  but  this  defect  was  an  inevitable  result  of 
the  loss  of  teeth,  and  their  imperfect  substitution  by  a  false 
set.  In  view  of  the  state  of  the  arts  in  this  country  at  the 
period,  and  the  age  of  W  ashington,  we  cannot  but  congratu¬ 
late  ourselves  that  we  have  so  pleasing  and  satisfactory  a 
portrait,  and  exclaim,  with  Leslie,  “how  fortunate  it  was 
that  a  painter  existed  in  the  time  of  Washington  who  could 
hand  him  down  looking  like  a  gentleman!”  Dr.  Marshall, 
brother  of  the  Chief -justice,  said  that  W  ashington  did  not 
resemble  Pine’s  portrait,  when  he  knew  him,  that  Wertmul- 
ler’s  had  too  French  a  look,  another  by  Wertmuller  had  eyes 
too  light,  but  that  Stuart’s  was  prodigiously  “like.” 

Opinions  are  quite  diverse  in  regard  to  the  W ertmuller 
portrait.  There  are  many  points  of  executive  merit  in  the 
original  not  completely  rendered  in  the  engraving ;  the  air  of 
the  head,  the  grave  and  refined  look,  the  well-arranged  hair, 
neat  ruffles,  and  old-fashioned  coat,  sprinkled  at  the  shoul¬ 
ders  with  powder,  at  once  gave  the  somewhat  vague  yet  un¬ 
mistakable  impression  of  “the  portrait  of  a  gentleman.” 
There  is  an  expression  of  firmness  and  clear-sightedness,  and 
an  erect,  brave  attitude  which  reveals  the  soldier;  and  there 
is  more  animation  than  we  are  accustomed  to  see  in  portraits 
of  Washington.  The  latter  trait  is  probably  that  which  led 
to  the  selection  of  this  picture  as  an  illustration  to  Irving’s 
biography. 


428 


U/or^s  of  \U as\)\r)QtOT)  Iruf r><$ 


Adolphe  Ulric  Wertmuller  was  a  devoted  student  of 
art,  but  his.  taste  and  style  were  chiefly  formed  under  the  in¬ 
fluence  of  the  old  French  Academy — and  long  before  the  deli¬ 
cate  adherence  to  nature  which  now  redeems  the  best  modern 
pictures  of  French  artists  had  taken  the  place  of  a  certain 
artificial  excellence  and  devotion  to  mere  effect.  The  career 
of  this  accomplished  painter  was  marked  by  singular  vicissi¬ 
tudes — a  native  of  Stockholm,  after  preparatory  studies  there, 
he  went  to  Paris,  and  remained  several  years  acquiring  both 
fame  and  fortune  by  his  pencil;  the  latter,  however,  was 
nearly  all  lost  by  the  financial  disasters  at  the  outbreak  of 
the  Revolution,  and  Wertmuller  embarked  for  America,  and 
arrived  in  Philadelphia  in  1794.'  He  was  well  received  and 
highly  estimated;  Washington  sat  to  him;*  in  1796  he  re¬ 
turned  to  Europe,  but,  after  a  brief  period,  the  failure  of  a 
commercial  house  in  Stockholm,  in  whose  care  he  had  placed 
his  funds,  so  vexed  him  that  he  returned  to  Philadelphia, 
where  he  soon  after  exhibited  his  large  and  beautiful  picture 
of  “Danae” — which,  while  greatly  admired  for  the  executive 
talent  it  displayed,  was  too  exceptionable  a  subject  to  meet 
with  the  approbation  of  the  sober  citizens,  whose  sense  of 
propriety  was  so  much  more  vivid  than  their  enthusiasm  for 
art.  Wertmuller  soon  after  married  a  lady  of  Swedish  de¬ 
scent,  purchased  a  farm  in  Delaware  County,  Penn.,  and 
resided  there  in  much  comfort  and  tranquillity,  until  his 
death  in  1812.  His  pictures  were  sold  at  auction;  and  a 
small  copy  of  the  “Danae”  brought  $500;  the  original,  some 
years  after,  being  purchased  in  Hew  York  for  three  times 
that  sum.  In  an  appreciative  notice  of  him,  which  appeared 
soon  after  his  death  in  a  leading  literary  journal,  there  is  the 
following  just  reference  to  his  portrait  of  W ashington :  “It 
has  been  much  praised  and  frequently  copied  on  the  conti¬ 
nent  of  Europe;  but  it  has  a  forced  and  foreign  air,  into 
which  the  painter  seems  to  have  fallen  by  losing  sight  of 


*  See  notice  of  Wertmuller  in  “Analectic  Magazine,” 
1815. 


Cife  of  U/asl?ir)<$t:oi?  429 

the  noble  presence  before  him,  in  an  attempt  after  ideal 
dignity.”  * 

Wertmuller  was  eminent  in  his  day  for  miniatures  and 
oil  portraits.  Our  first  knowledge  of  him  was  derived  from 
the  superb  picture  of  Danae,  which,  for  some  time,  occupied 
a  nook,  curtained  from  observation,  in  the  studio  of  the  late 
Henry  Inman,  of  New  York,  and  it  was  exhibited  in  Wash¬ 
ington  City,  thirty  years  ago.  There  was  fine  drawing  and 
rich  color  in  this  voluptuous  creation — enough  to  convey  a 
high  idea  of  the  skill  and  grace  of  the  artist.  With  this 
picture  vividly  in  the  mind,  it  is  difficult  to  realize  that  the 
chaste,  subdued  portrait  of  W  ashington  was  from  the  same 
hand. 

It  was  confidently  asserted  that  Washington  invariably 
noted  in  his  diary  his  sittings  to  portrait  painters,  and  that 
no  entry  appears  in  reference  to  this  picture.  Its  claim  to 
originality  was,  therefore,  questioned.  With  the  impatience 
of  the  whole  subject,  however,  that  Washington  confessed  at 
last,  he  may  have  ceased  to  record  what  became  a  penance ; 
and  were  the  picture  satisfactory  in  other  respects,  we  should 
not  be  disposed  to  complain  that  it  was  skillfully  combined 
from  other  portraits.  But,  in  our  view,  the  engraving,  at 
least,  has  intrinsic  faults.  It  is  neither  the  Washington  fa¬ 
miliar  to  observation  as  portrayed,  nor  to  fancy  as  idealized. 
There  is  a  self-conscious  expression  about  the  mouth,  not  visi¬ 
ble  in  Stuart’s  or  Trumbull’s  heads,  and  out  of  character  with 
itself ;  the  eyebrows  are  raised  so  as  to  indicate  either  a  su¬ 
percilious  or  a  surprised  mood,  both  alien  to  Washington’s 
habitual  state  of  mind ;  it  is  impossible  for  the  brows  to  be 
knit  between  the  eyes,  and  arched  over  them  at  the  same 
time,  as  in  this  engraving;  the  eyes  themselves  have  a  star¬ 
ing  look;  the  animation  so  much  wanted  is  here  obtained  at 
the  expense  of  that  serenity  which  was  a  normal  characteris¬ 
tic  of  the  man ;  we  miss  the  modesty,  the  latent  power,  the 
placid  strength,  so  intimately  associated  with  the  looks  as 


*  “Analectic  Magazine.” 


430 


ll/or^s  of  \l/a&Y)\r)QtOT)  Iruip$ 


well  as  the  nature  of  W  ashington ;  the  visage  is  too  elon¬ 
gated;  compared  with  the  Athenaeum  portrait  this  picture 
has  a  commonplace  expression;  it  does  not  approach  it  in 
moral  elevation ;  we  should  pass  it  by  in  a  gallery  as  the  like¬ 
ness  of  a  gentleman  and  a  brave  officer,  but  not  linger  over 
it  as  the  incarnation  of  disinterested,  magnanimous,  loyal 
courage,  such  as  lent  a  certain  unconscious,  impressive,  and 
superior  aspect  to  W  ashington,  and  divided  him,  by  an  infi¬ 
nite  distance,  from  the  mob  of  vulgar  heroes. 

The  latest  and  most  triumphant  attempt  to  embody  and 
illustrate  the  features,  form,  and  character  of  Washington 
in  statuary,  was  made  by  the  late  American  sculptor — 
Thomas  Crawford.  How  well  he  studied,  and  how  ade¬ 
quately  he  reproduced  the  head  of  his  illustrious  subject,  may 
be  realized  by  a  careful  examination  of  the  noble  and  impres¬ 
sive  marble  bust  of  Washington  from  his  chisel,  now  ip  the 
possession  of  John  Ward,  Esq.,  of  New  York.  Essentially, 
and  as  far  as  contour  and  proportions  are  concerned,  based 
upon  the  model  of  Houdon — this  beautiful  and  majestic  effigy 
is  instinct  with  the  character  of  its  subject,  so  that  while  sat¬ 
isfactory  in  detail  as  a  resemblance  caught  from  nature,  it, 
at  the  same  time,  is  executed  in  a  spirit  perfectly  accordant 
with  the  traditional  impressions  and  the  distinctive  ideas 
whence  we  derive  our  ideal  of  the  man,  the  chieftain,  and 
the  patriot;  the  molding  of  the  brow,  the  pose  of  the  head, 
and  especially  the  expression  of  the  mouth,  are  not  less  au¬ 
thentic  than  effective.  But  the  crowning  achievement  of 
this  artist  is  his  equestrian  statue  executed  for  the  State  of 
Virginia,  and  now  the  grand  trophy  and  ornament  of  her 
Capital.  “When  on  the  evening  of  his  arrival,  Crawford 
went  to  see,  for  the  first  time,  his  Washington  in  bronze  at 
the  Munich  foundry,  he  was  surprised  at  the  dusky  precincts 
of  the  vast  area ;  suddenly  torches  flashed  illumination  on 
the  magnificent  horse  and  rider,  and  simultaneously  burst 
forth  from  a  hundred  voices  a  song  of  triumph  and  jubilee; 
thus  the  delighted  Germans  congratulated  their  gifted  brother 


Cife  of  U/asfiir^toi) 


431 


and  hailed  the  sublime  work — typical  to  them  of  American 
freedom,  patriotism,  and  genius.  The  Bavarian  king  warmly 
recognized  its  original  merits  and  consummate  effect;  the 
artists  would  suffer  no  inferior  hands  to  pack  and  dispatch 
it  to  the  seaside ;  peasants  greeted  its  triumphal  progress ;  the 
people  of  Richmond  were  emulous  to  share  the  task  of  con¬ 
veying  it  from  the  quay  to  Capitol  Hill;  mute  admiration 
followed  by  ecstatic  cheers  hailed  its  unveiling,  and  the  most 
gracious  native  eloquence  inaugurated  its  erection.  W e  might 
descant  upon  the  union  of  majesty  and  spirit  in  the  figure  of 
Washington,  and  the  vital  truth  of  action  in  the  horse,  the 
air  of  command  and  of  rectitude,  the  martial  vigor  and  grace, 
so  instantly  felt  by  the  popular  heart  and  so  critically  praised 
by  the  adept  in  sculpture  cognizant  of  the  difficulties  to  over¬ 
come,  and  the  impression  to  be  absolutely  conveyed  by  such 
a  work,  in  order  to  make  it  at  once  true  to  nature  and  to 
character ;  we  might  repeat  the  declaration  that  no  figure, 
ancient  or  modern,  so  entirely  illustrates  the  classical  defini¬ 
tion  of  oratory,  as  consisting  in  action,  as  the  statue  of  Pat¬ 
rick  Henry,  one  of  the  grand  accessories  of  the  work — which 
seems  instinct  with  that  memorable  utterance,  ‘Give  me  lib¬ 
erty,  or  give  me  death.’  ”  ,  By  a  singular  and  affecting  coin¬ 
cidence,  the  news  of  Crawford’s  death  reached  the  United 
States  simultaneously  with  the  arrival  of  the  ship  containing 
this  colossal  bronze  statue  of  Washington— his  “crowning 
achievement.”  In  this  work,  the  first  merit  is  naturalness ; 
although  full  of  equine  ardor,  the  graceful  and  noble  animal 
is  evidently  subdued  by  his  rider;  calm  power  is  obvious  in 
the  man,  restrained  eagerness  in  the  horse;  Washington’s 
left  hand  is  on  the  snaffle  bridle,  which  is  drawn  back ;  he 
sits  with  perfect  ease  and  dignity,  the  head  and  face  a  little 
turned  to  the  left,  as  if  his  attention  had  just  been  called  in 
that  direction,  either  in  expectancy,  or  to  give  an  order;  he 
points  forward,  and  a  little  upward ;  the  figure  is  erect,  the 
chest  thrown  forward,  the  knees  pressed  to  the  saddle,  the 
heel  nearly  beneath  the  shoulder,  and  the  sole  of  the  foot  al¬ 
most  horizontal.  The  seat  is  a  military  and  not  a  hunting 


432 


U/or^s  of  U/asl?ir)$tor}  Iruii}<$ 


seat ;  the  horse  is  recognized,  by  one  acquainted  with  breeds, 

as  “a  charger  of  Arab  blood.” 

•  •••••  •• 

His  hands  were  large,  as  became  one  inured  to  practical 
achievement ;  his  forehead  was  of  that  square  mold  that  ac“ 
companies  an  executive  mind,  not  swelling  at  the  temples,  as 
in  the  more  ideal  conformation  of  poetical  men ;  a  calm  and 
benevolent  light  usually  gleamed  from  his  eyes,  and  they 
flashed,  at  times,  with  valorous  purpose  or  stern  indignation; 
but  they  were  not  remarkably  large,  as  in  persons  of  more 
fluency,  and  foretold  Washington’s  natural  deficiency  in  lan¬ 
guage,  proclaiming  the  man  of  deeds,  not  words ;  neither  had 
they  the  liquid  hue  of  extreme  sensibility,  nor  the  varying 
light  of  an  unsubdued  temperament;  their  habitual  expres¬ 
sion  was  self-possessed,  serene  and  thoughtful.  There  was  a 
singular  breadth  to  the  face,  invariably  preserved  by  Stuart, 
but  not  always  by  Trumbull,  who  often  gives  an  aquiline  and 
somewhat  elongated  visage :  no  good  physiognomist  can  fail 
to  see  in  his  nose  that  dilation  of  the  nostril  and  prominence 
of  the  ridge  which  belong  to  resolute  and  spirited  characters; 
the  distance  between  the  eyes  marks  a  capacity  to  measure 
distances  and  appreciate  form  and  the  relation  of  space ;  but 
these  special  traits  are  secondary  to  the  carriage  of  the  body, 
and  the  expression  of  the  whole  face,  in  which  appear  to  have 
blended  an  unparalleled  force  of  impression.  When  fully 
possessed  of  the  details  of  his  remarkable  countenance,  and 
inspired  by  the  record  of  his  career,  we  turn  from  the  descrip¬ 
tion  of  those  who  beheld  the  man  on  horseback,  at  the  head 
of  an  army,  presiding  over  the  national  councils,  or  seated  in 
the  drawing-room,  to  any  of  the  portraits,  we  feel  that  no 
artist  ever  caught  his  best  look,  or  transmitted  his  features 
when  kindled  by  .that  matchless  soul.  If  we  compare  any 
selection  of  engravings  with  each  other,  so  inferior  are  the 
greater  part  extant,  we  find  such  glaring  discrepancies  that 
doubts  multiply;  and  we  realize  that  art  never  did  entire 
justice  to  the  idea,  the  latent  significance,  and  the  absolute 
character  of  Washington.  There  is  dignity  in  Houdon’s 


Cife  of  U/asfyir^toi} 


433 


bust,  an  effective  facial  angle  in  the  crayon  of  Sharpless, 
and  elegance,  wisdom,  and  benignity  in  Stuart’s  head;  but 
what  are  they,  each  and  all,  in  contrast  with  the  visage  we 
behold  in  fancy,  and  revere  in  heart?  It  has  been  ingeniously 
remarked  that  the  letters  received  by  an  individual  indicate 
his  character  better  than  those  Le  writes,  because  they  sug¬ 
gest  what  he  elicits  from  others,  and  thereby  furnish  the  best 
key  to  his  scope  of  mind  and  temper  of  soul ;  on  the  same 
principle  the  likeness  drawn,  not  from  the  minute  descrip¬ 
tions,  but  the  vivid  impressions  of  those  brought  into  inti¬ 
mate  contact  with  an  illustrious  character,  are  the  most  re¬ 
liable  materials  for  his  portrait ;  they  reflect  the  man  in  the 
broad  mirror  of  humanity,  and  are  the  faithful  daguerreotypes 
which  the  vital  radiance  of  his  nature  leaves  on  the  conscious¬ 
ness  of  mankind. 


II 

WASHINGTON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS 

[The  original  MS.  of  the  Farewell  Address,  in  Washington’s  handwrit¬ 
ing,  and  with  his  revisions  and  alterations,  having  been  purchased 
by  James  Lenox,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  that  gentleman  caused  a 
few  copies  of  it,  with  some  illustrative  documents,  to  be  printed 
fc?  private  distribution.  By  permission  of  Mr.  Lenox  it  is  here 
reprinted,  with  the  alterations,  and  with  his  explanatory 
remarks.] 


PREFACE 

This  reprint  of  Washington’s  Farewell  Address  to  the 
people  of  the  United  States  is  made  from  the  original  manu¬ 
script  recently  sold  in  Philadelphia  by  the  administrators  of 
the  late  Mr.  David  C.  Claypoole,  in  whose  possession  it  had 
been  from  the  date  of  its  first  publication.  The  paper  is 
entirely  in  the  autograph  of  W  ashington :  no  one  acquainted 
with  his  handwriting  can  inspect  it  and  doubt  for  a  moment 
the  statements  to  that  effect  made  by  Mr.  Claypoole  and  Mr. 
Rawle.  Upon  examining  the  manuscript,  it  was  found  that, 

Vol.  XV.—*  *  *  19 


434 


U/or^s  of  U/asbip^top  Iruip$ 


in  addition  to  its  importance  as  a  historical  document,  and 
its  value  from  being  in  the  autograph  of  W  ashington,  it  was 
of  great  interest  as  a  literary  curiosity,  and  threw  light  upon 
the  disputed  question  of  the  authorship  of  the  Address.  It 
clearly  shows  the  process  by  which  that  paper  was  wrought 
into  the  form  in  which  it  was  first  given  to  the  public ;  and 
notes  written  on  the  margin  of  passages  and  paragraphs, 
which  have  been  erased,  prove,  almost  beyond  a  doubt,  that 
this  draft  was  submitted  to  the  judgment  of  other  persons. 
Such  memoranda  was  unnecessary  either  for  Washington’s 
own  direction  on  a  subsequent  revision,  or  for  the  guidance 
of  the  printer;  but  he  might  very  naturally  thus  note  the 
reasons  which  had  led  him  to  make  the  alterations  before  he 
asked  the  advice  and  opinion  of  his  friends.  It  seems  prob¬ 
able,  therefore,  that  this  is  the  very  draft  sent  to  General 
Hamilton  and  Chief- justice  Jay,  as  related  in  the  letter  of 
the  latter.  Some  of  the  alterations,  however,  were  evidently 
made  during  the  writing  of  the  paper;  for  in  a  few  instances 
a  part,  and  even  the  whole,  of  a  sentence  is  struck  out,  which 
afterward  occurs  in  the  body  of  the  address. 

Mr.  Claypoole’s  description  of  the  appearance  of  the  manu¬ 
script  is  very  accurate.  There  are  many  alterations,  correc¬ 
tions,  and  interlineations;  and  whole  sentences  and  para¬ 
graphs  are  sometimes  obliterated.  All  these,  howev^y,  have 
been  deciphered  without  much  trouble,  and  carefully  noted. 

It  was  thought  best  to  leave  the  text  in  this  edition  as  it 
was  first  printed:  only  two  slight  verbal  variations  were 
found  between  the  corrected  manuscript  and  the  common 
printed  copies.  All  the  interlineations  and  alterations  are 
inserted  in  brackets  [  ],  and  where,  in  any  case,  words  or 
sentences  have  been  struck  out,  either  with  or  without  cor¬ 
rections  in  the  text  to  supply  their  place,  these  portions  have 
been  deciphered  and  are  printed  in  notes  at  the  foot  of  the 
page.  The  reader  will  thus  be  enabled  to  perceive  at  a  glance 
the  changes  made  in  the  composition  of  the  address ;  and  if 
the  draft  made  by  General  Hamilton,  and  read  by  him  to 
Mr.  Jay,  should  be  published,  it  will  be  seen  how  far  Wash- 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii}<$tor)  435 

ington  adopted  the  modifications  and  suggestions  made  by 
them. 

When  this  preface  was  thus  far  prepared  for  the  press, 
an  opportunity  was  afforded,  through  the  kindness  of  John 
C.  Hamilton,  Esq.,  to  examine  several  letters  which  passed 
between  Washington  and  General  Hamilton  relating  to  the 
Address,  and  also  a  copy  of  it  in  the  handwriting  of  the  lat¬ 
ter.  It  appears  from  these  communications  that  the  Presi¬ 
dent,  both  in  sending  to  him  a  rough  draft  of  the  document, 
and  at  subsequent  dates,  requested  him  to  prepare  such  an 
Address  as  he  thought  would  be  appropriate  to  the  occasion; 
that  Washington  consulted  him  particularly,  and  most  mi¬ 
nutely,  on  many  points  connected  with  it;  and  that  at  dif¬ 
ferent  times  General  Hamilton  did  forward  to  the  President 
three  drafts  of  such  a  paper.  The  first  was  sent  back  to  him 
with  suggestions  for  its  correction  and  enlargement;  from 
the  second  draft,  thus  altered  and  improved,  the  manuscript 
now  printed  may  be  supposed  to  have  been  prepared  by 
Washington,  and  transmitted  for  final  examination  to  Gen¬ 
eral  Hamilton  and  Judge  Jay;  and  with  it  the  third  draft 
was  returned  to  the  President,  and  may  probably  yet  be  found 
among  his  papers. 

The  copy  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Hamilton  is  probably 
the  second  of  these  three  drafts :  it  is  very  much  altered  and 
corrected  throughout.  In  comparing  it  with  that  in  Wash¬ 
ington’s  autograph,  the  sentiments  are  found  to  be  the  same, 
and  the  words  used  are  very  frequently  identical.  Some  of 
the  passages  erased  in  the  manuscript  are  in  the  draft :  three 
paragraphs,  viz.,  those  on  pages  50,  51,  and  52,  have  noth¬ 
ing  corresponding  to  them  in  the  draft ;  but  a  space  is  left  in 
it,  evidently  for  the  insertion  of  additional  matter.  The  com¬ 
parison  of  these  two  papers  is  exceedingly  curious.  It  is  diffi¬ 
cult  to  conceive  how  two  persons  could  express  the  same  ideas 
in  substantially  the  same  language,  and  yet  with  much  di¬ 
versity  in  the  construction  of  the  sentences,  and  the  position 
of  the  words.  L. 

New  York,  April  12,  1850. 


436 


U/or^s  of  U/asl?ii)<$toi)  Irvipqf 


FAREWELL  ADDRESS 

Friends,  and  Fellow-Citizens: 

The  period  for  a  new  election  of  a  Citizen,  to  administer 
the  Executive  Government  of  the  United  States,  being  not 
far  distant,  and  the  time  actually  arrived,  when  your 
thoughts  must  be  employed  in  designating  the  person,  who 
is  to  be  clothed  with  that  important  trust  [*],  it  appears  to 
me  proper,  especially  as  it  may  conduce  to  a  more  distinct 
expression  of  the  public  voice,  that  I  should  now  apprise 
you  of  the  resolution  I  have  formed,  to  decline  being  con¬ 
sidered  among  the  number  of  those,  out  of  whom  a  choice 
is  to  be  made. 

I  beg  you,  at  the  same  time,  to  do  me  the  justice  to  be 
assured,  that  this  resolution  has  not  been  taken,  without  a 
strict  regard  to  all  the  considerations  appertaining  to  the 
relation,  which  binds  a  dutiful  citizen  to  his  country — and 
that,  in  withdrawing  the  tender  of  service  which  silence  in 
my  situation  might  imply,  I  am  influenced  by  no  diminution 
of  zeal  for  your  future  interest,  no  deficiency  of  grateful 
respect  for  your  past  kindness;  but  [am  supported  by]  f  a 
full  conviction  that  the  step  is  compatible  with  both. 

The  acceptance  of,  and  continuance  hitherto  in,  the  office 
to  which  your  suffrages  have  twice  called  me,  have  been  a 
uniform  sacrifice  of  inclination  to  the  opinion  of  duty,  and 
to  a  deference  for  what  appeared  to  be  your  desire. — I  con¬ 
stantly  hoped,  that  it  would  have  been  much  earlier  in  my 
power,  consistently  with  motives  which  I  was  not  at  liberty 
to  disregard,  to  return  to  that  retirement,  from  which  I  had 
been  reluctantly  drawn. — The  strength  of  my  inclination 
to  do  this,  previous  to  the  last  election,  had  even  led  to  the 
preparation  of  an  address  to  declare  it  to  you ;  but  mature 
reflection  on  the  then  perplexed  and  critical  posture  of  our 
affairs  with  foreign  Nations,  and  the  unanimous  advice  of 


*  for  another  term 


f  act  under 


Cife  of  \I/a8l?ir)<$tor}  437 

persons  entitled  to  my  confidence,  impelled  me  to  abandon 
the  idea. — 

I  rejoice  that  the  state  of  yonr  concerns,  external  as  well 
as  internal,  no  longer  renders  the  pursuit  of  inclination  in¬ 
compatible  with  the  sentiment  of  duty,  or  propriety;  and 
[am  persuaded]  *  whatever  partiality  [may  be  retained]  f 
for  my  services,  [that]  f  in  the  present  circumstances  of  our 
country  [you]  will  not  disapprove  my  determination  to  retire. 

The  impressions,  [with]  §  which  I  first  [undertook]  ||  the 
arduous  trust,  were  explained  on  the  proper  occasion.  In 
the  discharge  of  this  trust,  I  will  only  say  that  I  have,  with 
good  intentions,  contributed  [toward]  %  the  organization  and 
administration  of  the  government,  the  best  exertions  of  which 
a  very  fallible  judgment  was  capable.  Not  unconscious,  in 
the  outset,  of  the  inferiority  of  my  qualifications,  experience 
in  my  own  eyes,  [perhaps]  still  more  in  the  eyes  of  others, 
has  [strengthened] * §  **  the  motives  to  diffidence  of  myself;  and 
every  day  the  increasing  weight  of  years  admonishes  me 
more  and  more,  that  the  shade  of  retirement  is  as  necessary 
to  me  as  it  will  be  welcome.-— Satisfied  that  if  any  circum¬ 
stances  have  given  peculiar  value  to  my  services,  they  were 
temporary,  I  have  the  consolation  to  believe,  that,  while 
choice  and  prudence  invite  me  to  quit  the  political  scene, 
patriotism  does  not  forbid  it.  [ft] 

In  looking  forward  to  the  moment,  which  is  [intended] 

*  that  f  any  portion  of  you  may  yet  retain  f  even  they 

§  under  ||  accepted  to  **  not  lessened 

ft  May  I  also  have  that  of  knowing  in  my  retreat  that  the 
involuntary  errors,  I  have  probably  committed,  have  been 
the  sources  of  no  serious  or  lasting  mischief  to  our  country. 
I  may  then  expect  to  realize,  without  alloy,  the  sweet  enjoy¬ 
ment  of  partaking,  in  the  midst  of  my  fellow-citizens,  the 
benign  influence  of  good  laws  under  a  free  government; 
the  ever  favorite  object  of  my  heart,  and  the  happy  reward, 
I  trust,  of  our  mutual  cares,  dangers  and  labors. 

In  the  margin  opposite  this  paragraph  is  the  following 
note  in  Washington’s  Autograph,  also  erased,  “obliterated 
to  avoid  the  imputation  of  affected  modesty.” 


438 


U/orks  of  U/a8bir?$tOQ  Iruir}$ 


to  terminate  the  career  of  my  public  life,  my  feelings  do  not 
permit  me  to  suspend  the  deep  acknowledgment  [of]  *  that 
debt  of  gratitude  which  I  owe  to  my  beloved  country, — for 
the  many  honors  it  has  conferred  upon  me ;  still  more  for  the 
steadfast  confidence  with  which  it  has  supported  me;  and 
for  the  opportunities  I  have  thence  enjoyed  of  manifesting 
my  inviolable  attachment,  by  services  faithful  and  persever¬ 
ing,  though  [in  usefulness  unequal]  f  to  my  zeal. — If  bene¬ 
fits  have  resulted  to  our  country  from  these  services,  let  it 
always  be  remembered  to  your  praise,  and  as  an  instructive 
example  in  our  annals,  that  [J]  under  circumstances  in 
which  the  Passions  agitated  in  every  direction  were  liable 
to  [mislead]  §  amidst  appearances  sometimes  dubious,  vicis¬ 
situdes  of  fortune  often  discouraging — in  situations  in  which 
not  unfrequently  want  of  success  has  countenanced  the  spirit 
of  criticism  [the  constancy  of  your  support]  was  the  essential 
prop  of  the  efforts  and  [a]  ||  guarantee  of  the  plans  by  which 
they  were  effected.  Profoundly  penetrated  with  this  idea, 
I  shall  carry  it  with  me  to  the  grave,  as  a  strong  incitement 
to  unceasing  vows  [^[]  that  Heaven  may  continue  to  you  the 
choicest  tokens  of  its  beneficence — that  your  union  and  broth¬ 
erly  affection  may  be  perpetual-— that  the  free  constitution, 
which  is  the  work  of  your  hands,  may  be  sacredly  maintained 
— that  its  administration  in  every  department  may  be  stamped 
with  wisdom  and  virtue — that,  in  fine,  the  happiness  of  the 
people  of  these  States,  under  the  auspices  of  liberty,  may  be 
made  complete,  by  so  careful  a  preservation  and  so  prudent 
a  use  of  this  blessing  as  will  acquire  to  them  the  glory  [**] 
of  recommending  it  to  the  applause,  the  affection,  and  adop¬ 
tion  of  every  nation  which  is  yet  a  stranger  to  it. 

Here,  perhaps,  I  ought  to  stop. — But  a  solicitude  for  your 
welfare  which  cannot  end  but  with  my  life,  and  the  appre^ 

*  demanded  by  f  unequal  in  usefulness 

t  the  constancy  of  your  support 
§  wander  and  fluctuate 

||  the  IT  the  only  return  1  can  henceforth  make 

**  or  satisfaction 


Cife  of  U/asl^ip^top 


439 


hension  of  danger,  natural  to  that  solicitude,  [urge  me,  on 
an  occasion  like  the  present,  to  offer]  *  to  your  solemn  con¬ 
templation,  and  to  recommend  to  your  frequent  review,  some 
sentiments  which  are  the  result  of  much  reflection,  of  no 
inconsiderable  observation  [f],  and  which  appear  to  me  all 
important  to  the  permanency  of  your  felicity  as  a  people. — 
These  will  be  offered  to  you  with  the  more  freedom  as  you 
can  only  see  in  them  the  disinterested  warnings  of  a  depart¬ 
ing  friend,  who  can  [possibly]  have  no  personal  motive  to 
bias  his  counsels. — [Nor  can  I  forget,  as  an  encouragement 
to  it,  your  indulgent  reception  of  my  sentiments  on  a  former 
and  not  dissimilar  occasion.] 

Interwoven  as  is  the  love  of  liberty  with  every  ligament 
of  your  hearts,  no  recommendation  of  mine  is  necessary  to 
fortify  or  confirm  the  attachment. - 

The  Unity  of  Government  which  constitutes  you  one 
people,  is  also  now  dear  to  you. — It  is  justly  so; — for  it  is  a 
main  Pillar  in  the  Edifice  of  your  real  independence;  [the 
support]  of  your  tranquillity  at  home;  your  peace  abroad; 
of  your  safety;  [J]  of  your  prosperity  [§];  of  that  very 
Liberty  which  you  so  highly  prize. — But,  as  it  is  easy  to  fore¬ 
see,  that  from  [different]  ||  causes,  and  from  different  quar¬ 
ters,  much  pains  will  be  taken,  many  artifices  employed,  to 
weaken  in  your  minds  the  conviction  of  this  truth : — as  this 
is  the  point  in  your  [political]  fortress  against  which  the 
batteries  of  internal  and  external  enemies  will  be  most  con¬ 
stantly  and  actively  (though  often  covertly  and  insidiously) 
directed,  it  is  of  infinite  moment,  that  you  should  properly 
estimate  the  immense  value  of  your  national  Union  to  your 
collective  and  individual  happiness ; — that  you  should  cher¬ 
ish  [1]  a  cordial,  habitual,  and  immovable  attachment  [to  it, 


*  encouraged  by  the  remembrance  of  your  indulgent  re¬ 
ception  of  my  sentiments  on  an  occasion  not  dissimilar  to 
the  present,  urge  me  to  offer  f  and  experience 

X  in  every  relation  §  in  every  shape 

||  various  1  toward  it 


440 


U/orks  of  XUa&tyi)$tOT)  Irvii)<$ 


accustoming  yourselves  to  think  and  speak  of  it  as  of  the 
Palladium  of  your  political  safety  and  prosperity ;  watching 
for  its  preservation  with  jealous  anxiety;  discountenancing 
whatever  may  suggest  even  a  suspicion  that  it  can  in  any 
event  be  abandoned,  and  indignantly  frowning  upon  the  first 
dawning  of  every  attempt  to  alienate  any  portion  of  our 
Country  from  the  rest,  or  to  enfeeble  the  sacred  ties  which 
now  link  together  the  various  parts.]  * — 

For  this  you  have  every  inducement  of  sympathy  and 
interest. — Citizens  [by  birth  or  choice  of  a  common  country],! 
that  country  has  a  right  to  concentrate  your  affections. — The 
name  of  American,  which  belongs  to  you,  in  your  national 
capacity,  must  always  exalt  the  just  pride  of  Patriotism, 
more  than  any  appellation  [J]  derived  from  local  discrimina¬ 
tions. — With  slight  shades  of  difference,  you  have  the  same 
Religion,  Manners,  Habits,  and  political  Principles. — You 
have  in  a  common  cause  fought  and  triumphed  together. — 
The  Independence  and  Liberty  you  possess  are  the  work 
of  joint  councils  and  joint  efforts — of  common  dangers, 
sufferings  and  successes. — 

But  these  considerations,  however  powerfully  they  ad¬ 
dress  themselves  to  your  sensibility,  are  greatly  outweighed 
by  those  which  apply  more  immediately  to  your  Interest. — 
Here  every  portion  of  our  country  finds  the  most  command¬ 
ing  motives  for  carefully  guarding  and  preserving  the  Union 
of  the  whole. 

The  North  in  an  [unrestrained]  §  intercourse  with  the 

*  that  you  should  accustom  yourselves  to  reverence  it  as 
the  Palladium  of  your  political  safety  and  prosperity,  adapt¬ 
ing  constantly  your  words  and  actions  to  that  momentous 
idea;  that  you  should  watch  for  its  preservation  with  jealous 
anxiety,  discountenance  whatever  may  suggest  a  suspicion 
that  it  can  in  any  event  be  abandoned;  and  frown  upon  the 
first  dawning  of  any  attempt  to  alienate  any  portion  of  our 
Country  from  the  rest,  or  to  enfeeble  the  sacred  ties  which 
now  link  together  the  several  parts. 

f  of  a  common  country  by  birth  or  choice. 

X  to  be  §  unfettered 


Cife  of  U/asbip^toq 


441 


South ,  protected  by  the  equal  Laws  of  a  common  govern¬ 
ment,  finds  in  the  productions  of  the  latter  [*]  great  addi¬ 
tional  resources  of  maritime  and  commercial  enterprise — and 
precious  materials  of  manufacturing  industry. — The  South , 
in  the  same  intercourse,  benefiting  by  the  agency  of  the 
North ,  sees  its  agriculture  grow  and  its  commerce  expand. 
Turning  partly  into  its  own  channels  the  seamen  of  the 
North ,  it  finds  its  particular  navigation  en vigorated; — and 
while  it  contributes,  in  different  ways,  to  nourish  and  in¬ 
crease  the  general  mass  of  the  national  navigation,  it  looks 
forward  to  the  protection  of  a  maritime  strength  to  which 
itself  is  unequally  adapted. — The  East ,  in  a  like  intercourse 
with  the  West,  already  finds,  and  in  the  progressive  improve¬ 
ment  of  interior  communications,  by  land  and  water,  will 
more  and  more  find,  a  valuable  vent  for  the  commodities 
which  it  brings  from  abroad,  or  manufactures  at  home. — 
The  West  derives  from  the  East  supplies  requisite  to  its 
growth  and  comfort,  and  what  is  perhaps  of  still  greater 
consequence,  it  must  of  necessity  owe  the  secure  enjoyment 
of  indispensable  outlets  for  its  own  productions  to  the  weight, 
influence,  and  the  future  maritime  strength  of  the  Atlantic 
side  of  the  Union,  directed  by  an  indissoluble  community  of 
interest,  as  one  Nation.  [Any  other]  f  tenure  by  which  the 
West  can  hold  this  essential  advantage,  [whether  derived]  \ 
from  its  own  separate  strength  or  from  an  apostate  and 
unnatural  connection  with  any  foreign  Power,  must  be  in¬ 
trinsically  precarious.  [§] 

[||]  While  [then]  every  part  of  our  Country  thus  [feels]  % 
an  immediate  and  particular  interest  in  Union,  all  the 
parts  **  [combined  cannot  fail  to  find]  in  the  united  mass 


*  many  of  the  peculiar  f  the  J  either 

§  liable  every  moment  to  be  disturbed  by  the  fluctuating 
combinations  of  the  primary  interests  of  Europe,  which  must 
be  expected  to  regulate  the  conduct  of  the  Nations  of  which 
it  is  composed. 

||  And  T  finds 


**  of  it 


442 


ll/orl^s  of  U/asl?ir>^toi)  Irufp$ 


of  means  and  efforts  [*]  greater  strength,  greater  resource, 
proportionably  greater  security  from  external  danger,  a  less 
frequent  interruption  of  their  peace  by  foreign  Nations;  and, 
[what  is]  f  of  inestimable  value!  they  must  derive  from 
Union  an  exemption  from  those  broils  and  wars  between 
themselves,  which  [so  frequently]  \  afflict  neighboring  coun¬ 
tries  not  tied  together  by  the  same  government;  which  their 
own  rivalships  alone  would  be  sufficient  to  produce;  but 
,  which  opposite  foreign  alliances,  attachments,  and  intrigues 
would  stimulate  and  imbitter. — Hence  likewise  they  will 
avoid  the  necessity  of  those  overgrown  Military  establish¬ 
ments,  which  under  any  form  of  government  are  inauspicious 
to  liberty,  and  which  [are  to  be  regarded]  §  as  particularly 
hostile  to  Republican  Liberty :  In  this  sense  it  is  that  your 
Union  ought  to  be  considered  as  the  main  prop  of  your  lib¬ 
erty,  and  that  the  love  of  the  one  ought  to  endear  to  you  the 
preservation  of  the  other. 

These  considerations  speak  a  persuasive  language  to 
[every]  ||  reflecting  and  virtuous  mind, — [and]  T  exhibit  the 
continuance  of  the  Union  as  a  primary  object  of  Patriotic 
desire. — Is  there  a  doubt  whether  a  common  government 
can  embrace  so  large  a  sphere?  Let  experience  solve  it. — To 
listen  to  mere  speculation  in  such  a  case  were  criminal. — [We 
are  authorized]  **  to  hope  that  a  proper  organization  of  the 
whole,  with  the  auxiliary  agency  of  governments  for  the 
respective  subdivisions,  will  afford  a  happy  issue  to  the  ex¬ 
periment.  ’Tis  well  worth  a  fair  and  full  experiment,  [f  f  ] 


*  cannot  fail  to  find  f  which  is  an  advantage 

t  inevitably  §  there  is  reason  to  regard 

|)  any  T  they  **  ’Tis  natural 

ft  It  may  not  impossibly  be  found,  that  the  spirit  of 
party,  the  machinations  of  foreign  powers,  "the  corruption 
and  ambition  of  individual  citizens  are  more  formidable 
adversaries  to  the  Unity  of  our  Empire  than  any  inherent 
difficulties  in  the  scheme.  Against  these  the  mounds  of 
national  opinion,  national  sympathy  and  national  jealousy 
ought  to  be  raised. 


Cife  of  U/asbffi^top 


443 


With  such  powerful  and  obvious  motives  to  Union,  [affect¬ 
ing]  *  all  parts  of  our  country  [f],  while  experience  shall 
not  have  demonstrated  its  impracticability,  there  will  always 
be  [reason]  l  to  distrust  the  patriotism  of  those,  who  in  any 
quarter  may  endeavor  to  weaken  its  bands.  [§] — 

In  contemplating  the  causes  which  may  disturb  our 
Union,  it  occurs  as  matter  of  serious  concern,  that  [any 
ground  should  have  been  furnished  for  characterizing  parties 
by]  ||  Geographical  discriminations — Northern  and  South¬ 
ern — Atlantic  and  Western;  [whence  designing  men  may 
endeavor  to  excite  a  belief  that  there  is  a  real  difference  of 


*  as  f  have  J  cause  in  the  effect  itself 

§  Besides  the  more  serious  causes  already  hinted  as 
threatening  our  Union,  there  is  one  less  dangerous,  but 
sufficiently  dangerous  to  make  it  prudent  to  be  upon  our 
guard  against  it.  I  allude  to  the  petulance  of  party  differ¬ 
ences  of  opinion.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  hear  the  irritations 
which  these  excite  vent  themselves  in  declarations  that  the 
different  parts  of  the  United  States  are  ill  affected  to  each 
other,  in  menaces  that  the  Union  will  be  dissolved  by  this 
or  that  measure.  Intimations  like  these  are  as  indiscreet 
as  they  are  intemperate.  Though  frequently  made  with 
levity  and  without  any  really  evil  intention,  they  have  a 
tendency  to  produce  the  consequence  which  they  indicate. 
They  teach  the  minds  of  men  to  consider  the  Union  as  pre¬ 
carious; — as  an  object  to  which  they  ought  not  to  attach 
their  hopes  and  fortunes; — and  thus  chill  the  sentiment  in 
its  favor.  By  alarming  the  pride  of  those  to  whom  they  are 
addressed,  they  set  ingenuity  at  work  to  depreciate  the  value 
of  the  thing,  and  to  discover  reasons  of  indifference  toward 
it.  This  is  not  wise. — It  will  be  much  wiser  to  habituate 
ourselves  to  reverence  the  Union  as  the  palladium  of  our 
national  happiness;  to  accommodate  constantly  our  words 
and  actions  to  that  idea,  and  to  discountenance  whatever 
may  suggest  a  suspicion  that  it  can  in  any  event  be  aban¬ 
doned.  (In  the  margin  opposite  this  paragraph  are  the 
words,  “Not  important  enough.”) 

||  our  parties  for  some  time  past  have  been  too  much 
characterized  by 


444 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?ii)<$toi}  Irvii>$ 


local  interests  and  views.  ]  *  One  of  the  expedients  of  Party 
to  acquire  influence,  within  particular  districts,  is  to  mis¬ 
represent  the  opinions  and  aims  of  other  districts. — You  can¬ 
not  shield  yourselves  too  much  against  the  jealousies  and 
heartburnings  which  spring  from  these  misrepresentations ; — 
They  tend  to  render  alien  to  each  other  those  who  ought  to  be 
bound  together  by  fraternal  affection. — The  inhabitants  of 
our  Western  country  have  lately  had  a  useful  lesson  on  this 
[head.]  f — They  have  seen,  in  the  negotiation  by  the  Execu¬ 
tive,  and  in  the  unanimous  ratification  by  the  Senate,  of  the 
Treaty  with  Spain,  and  in  the  universal  satisfaction  at  that 
event,  throughout  the  United  States,  a  decisive  proof  how 
unfounded  were  the  suspicions  propagated  among  them  of 
a  policy  in  the  General  Government  and  in  the  Atlantic 
States  unfriendly  to  their  interests  in  regard  to  the  Mis¬ 
sissippi. — They  have  been  witnesses  to  the  formation  of 
two  Treaties,  that  with  G.  Britain,  and  that  with  Spain, 
which  secure  to  them  everything  they  could  desire,  in  respect 
to  our  foreign  Relations  toward  confirming  their  prosperity. 
— Will  it  not  be  their  wisdom  to  rely  for  the  preservation 
of  these  advantages  on  the  Union  by  which  they  were  pro¬ 
cured? — Will  they  not  henceforth  be  deaf  to  those  advisers, 
if  such  there  are,  who  would  sever  them  from  their  Breth¬ 
ren,  and  connect  them  with  Aliens? — 


*  These  discriminations, - the  mere  contrivance  of 

the  spirit  of  Party  (always  dexterous  to  seize  every  handle 
by  which  the  passions  can  be  wielded,  and  too  skillful  not 
to  turn  to  account  the  sympathy  of  neighbourhood),  have 
furnished  an  argument  against  the  Union  as  evidence  of  a 
real  difference  of  local  interests  and  views;  and  serve  to 
hazard  it  by  organizing  larger  districts  of  country,  under  the 
leaders  of  contending  factions;  whose  rivalships,  prejudices 
and  schemes  of  ambition,  rather  than  the  true  interests  of 
the  Country,  will  direct  the  use  of  their  influence.  If  it  be 
possible  to  correct  this  poison  in  the  habit  of  our  body  politic, 
it  is  worthy  the  endeavors  of  the  moderate  and  the  good  to 
effect  it. 
t  subject 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii)<$toi) 


445 


To  the  efficacy  and  permanency  of  your  Union,  a  Govern¬ 
ment  for  the  whole  is  indispensable. — No  alliances,  however 
strict,  between  the  parts,  can  be  an  adequate  substitute. — 
They  must  inevitably  experience  the  infractions  and  inter¬ 
ruptions  which  all  alliances  in  all  times  have  experienced. — 
Sensible  of  this  momentous  truth,  you  have  improved  upon 
your  first  essay,  by  the  adoption  of  a  Constitution  of  Govern¬ 
ment,  better  calculated  than  your  former  for  an  intimate 
Union,  and  for  the  efficacious  management  of  your  common 
concerns.  This  government,  the  offspring  of  our  own  choice, 
uninfluenced  and  unawed,  adopted  upon  full  investigation 
and  mature  deliberation,  completely  free  in  its  principles,  in 
the  distribution  of  its  powers,  uniting  security  with  energy, 
and  containing  within  itself  a  provision  for  its  own  amend¬ 
ment,  has  a  just  claim  to  your  confidence  and  your  support. 
— Respect  for  its  authority,  compliance  with  its  Laws,  ac¬ 
quiescence  in  its  measures,  are  duties  enjoined  by  the  funda¬ 
mental  maxims  of  true  Liberty.  The  basis  of  our  political 
systems  is  the  right  of  the  people  to  make  and  to  alter  their 
Constitutions  of  Government. — But  the  Constitution  which 
at  any  time  exists,  ’till  changed  by  an  explicit  and  authentic 
act  of  the  whole  people,  is  sacredly  obligatory  upon  all.— 
The  very  idea  of  the  power  and  the  right  of  the  people  to 
establish  Government,  presupposes  the  duty  of  every  indi¬ 
vidual  to  obey  the  established  Government. 

All  obstructions  to  the  execution  of  the  Laws,  all  com¬ 
binations  and  associations,  under  whatever  plausible  char¬ 
acter,  with  [the  real]  design  to  direct,  controul,  counteract, 
or  awe  the  regular  deliberation  and  action  of  the  constituted 
authorities,  are  destructive  of  this  fundamental  principle, 
and  of  fatal  tendency. — They  serve  to  organize  faction,  to 
give  it  an  artificial  and  extraordinary  force — to  put  [*]  in  the 
place  of  the  delegated  will  of  the  Nation,  the  will  of  a  party; 
— often  a  small  but  artful  and  enterprising  minority  of  the 
community ; — and,  according  to  the  alternate  triumphs  of  dif- 

*  it 


446 


U/orks  of  U/asl?ir)$tor)  Irvir>$ 


ferent  parties,  to  make  the  public  administration  the  mirror  of 
the  ill-concerted  and  incongruous  projects  of  faction,  rather 
than  the  organ  of  consistent  and  wholesome  plans,  digested 
by  common  councils  and  modified  by  mutual  interests.  — How¬ 
ever  combinations  or  associations  of  the  above  description 
may  now  and  then  answer  popular  ends,  [*]  they  are  likely, 
in  the  course  of  time  and  things,  to  become  potent  engines, 
by  which  cunning,  ambitious,  and  unprincipled  men  will  be 
enabled  to  subvert  the  power  of  the  People,  and  to  usurp 
for  themselves  the  reins  of  Government;  destroying  after¬ 
ward  the  very  engines  which  have  lifted  them  to  unjust 
dominion. — 

Toward  the  preservation  of  your  Government  and  the 
permanency  of  your  present  happy  state,  it  is  requisite,  not 
only  that  you  steadily  discountenance  irregular  opposition 
to  its  acknowledged  authority,  but  also  that  you  resist  with 
care  [the]  f  spirit  of  innovation  upon  its  principles  however 
specious  the  pretexts. — One  method  of  assault  may  be  to 
effect,  in  the  forms  of  the  Constitution,  alterations  which 
will  impair  the  energy  of  the  system,  [and  thus  to  Jj  under¬ 
mine  what  cannot  be  directly  overthrown.  In  all  the  changes 
to  which  you  may  be  invited,  remember  that  time  and  habit 
are  at  least  as  necessary  to  fix  the  true  character  of  Govern¬ 
ments,  as  of  other  human  institutions — that  experience  is 
the  surest  standard,  by  which  to  test  the  real  tendency  of 
the  existing  Constitution  of  a  Country — that  facility  in 
changes  upon  the  credit  of  mere  hypothesis  and  opinion 
exposes  to  perpetual  change,  from  the  endless  variety  of 
hypothesis  and  opinion : — and  remember,  especially,  that 
for  the  efficient  management  of  your  common  interests,  in  a 
country  so  exterisive  as  ours,  a  Government  of  as  much 
vigour  as  is  consistent  with  the  perfect  security  of  Liberty 
is  indispensable — Liberty  itself  will  find  in  such  a  Govern¬ 
ment,  with  powers  properly  distributed  and  adjusted,  its 
surest  guardian. — [It  is  indeed  little  else  than  a  name,  where 

t  a  t  to 


*  and  purposes 


Cife  of  U/asfyir^tor? 


447 


the  Government  *s  too  feeble  to  withstand  the  enterprises  of  fac¬ 
tion,  to  confine  each  member  of  the  Society  within  the  limits 
prescribed  by  the  laws,  and  to  maintain  all  in  the  secure  and 
tranquil  enjoyment  of  the  rights  of  person  and  property.]  * 

I  have  already  intimated  to  you  the  danger  of  Parties  in 
the  State,  with  particular  reference  to  the  founding  of  them  on 
Geographical  discriminations.  — Let  me  now  take  a  more  com¬ 
prehensive  view,  and  warn  you  in  the  most  solemn  manner 
against  the  baneful  effects  of  the  Spirit  of  Party,  generally. 

This  Spirit,  unfortunately,  is  inseparable  from  [our]  f 
nature,  having  its  root  in  the  strongest  passions  of  the 
[human]  mind. — It  exists  under  different  shapes  in  all  Gov¬ 
ernments,  more  or  less  stifled,  controuled,  or  repressed;  but 
in  those  of  the  popular  form  it  is  seen  in  its  greatest  rank¬ 
ness,  and  it  is  truly  their  worst  enemy. — [I] 

The  alternate  domination  of  one  faction  over  another, 

*  Owing  to  you  as  I  do  a  frank  and  free  disclosure  of  my 
heart,  I  shall  not  conceal  from  you  the  belief  I  entertain, 
that  your  Government  as  at  present  constituted  is  far  more 
likely  to  prove  too  feeble  than  too  powerful.  f  human 
X  In  Republics  of  narrow  extent,  it  is  not  difficult  for 
those  who  at  any  time  hold  the  reins  of  Power,  and  com¬ 
mand  the  ordinary  public  favour,  to  overturn  the  established 
[constitution]  *  in  favour  of  their  own  aggrandizement. — The 
same  thing  may  likewise  be  too  often  accomplished  in  such 
Republics,  by  partial  combinations  of  men,  who  though  not 
in  office,  from  birth,  riches  or  other  sources  of  distinction, 
have  extraordinary  influence  and  numerous  [adherents.]  f — 
By  debauching  the  Military  force,  by  surprising  some  com¬ 
manding  citadel,  or  by  some  other  sudden  and  unforeseen 
movement,  the  fate  of  the  Republic  is  decided. — But  in  Re¬ 
publics  of  large  extent,  usurpation  can  scarcely  make  its 
way  through  these  avenues. — The  powers  and  opportunities 
of  resistance  of  a  wide  extended  and  numerous  nation,  defy 
the  successful  efforts  of  the  ordinary  Military  force,  or  of 
any  collections  which  wealth  and  patronage  may  call  to  their 
aid.  — In  such  Republics,  it  is  safe  to  assert,  that  the  conflicts 
of  popular  factions  are  the  chief,  if  not  the  only  inlets,  of 
usurpation  and  Tyranny 

*  order  \  retainers 


448 


U/or^8  of  U/a8fyir)<$tor>  IruiQ$ 


sharpened  by  the  spirit  of  revenge  natural  to  party  dissen¬ 
sion,  which  in  different  ages  and  countries  has  perpetrated 
the  most  horrid  enormities,  is  itself  a  frightful  despotism. 
But  this  leads  at  length  to  a  more  formal  and  permanent 
despotism. — The  disorders  and  miseries,  which  result,  grad¬ 
ually  incline  the  minds  of  men  to  seek  security  and  repose 
in  the  absolute  power  of  an  Individual :  and  sooner  or  later 
the  chief  of  some  prevailing  faction,  more  able  or  more 
fortunate  than  his  competitors,  turns  this  disposition  to  the 
purposes  of  his  own  elevation,  on  the  ruins  of  Public  Liberty. 

Without  looking  forward  to  an  extremity  of  this  kind 
(which  nevertheless  ought  not  to  be  entirely  out  of  sight), 
the  common  and  continual  mischiefs  of  the  spirit  of  Party 
are  sufficient  to  make  it  the  interest  and  the  duty  of  a  wise 
People  to  discourage  and  restrain  it. — 

It  serves  always  to  distract  the  Public  Councils  and  en¬ 
feeble  the  Public  administration. — It  agitates  the  community 
with  ill-founded  jealousies  and  false  alarms,  kindles  the  ani¬ 
mosity  of  one  part  against  another,  foments  occasionally  riot 
and  insurrection. — It  opens  the  door  to  foreign  influence  and 
corruption,  which  find  a  facilitated  access  [to  the  Govern¬ 
ment  itself  through  the  channels  of  party  passions.  Thus  the 
policy  and  the  will  of  one  country,  are  subjected  to  the  policy 
and  the  will  of  another.]  * 

There  is  an  opinion  that  parties  in  free  countries  are  use¬ 
ful  checks  upon  the  Administration  of  the  Government,  and 
serve  to  keep  alive  the  Spirit  of  Liberty. — This  within  cer¬ 
tain  limits  is  probably  true — and  in  Governments  of  a  Mo¬ 
narchical  cast,  Patriotism  may  look  with  indulgence,  if  not 
with  favour,  upon  the  spirit  of  party. — But  in  those  of  the 
popular  character,  in  Governments  purely  elective,  it  is  a 
spirit  not  to  be  encouraged. — From  their  natural  tendency, 
it  is  certain  there  will  always  be  enough  of  that  spirit  for 

*  through  the  channels  of  party  passions.  It  frequently 
subjects  the  policy  of  our  own  country  to  the  policy  of  some 
foreign  country,  and  even  enslaves  the  will  of  our  Govern¬ 
ment  to  the  will  of  some  foreign  Government. 


Cife  of  U/as^ip^toi) 


449 


©very  salutary  purpose, — and  there  being  constant  danger 
of  excess,  the  effort  ought  to  be,  by  force  of  public  opinion, 
to  mitigate  and  assuage  it. — A  fire  not  to  be  quenched;  it 
demands  a  uniform  vigilance  to  prevent  its  bursting  into 
a  flame,  lest,  [instead  of  warming,  it  should]  *  consume. — 

It  is  important,  likewise,  that  the  habits  of  thinking  in 
a  free  country  should  inspire  caution  in  those  entrusted  with 
its  administration,  to  confine  themselves  wibhin  their  respect¬ 
ive  constitutional  spheres;  avoiding  in  the  exercise  of  the 
powers  of  one  department  to  encroach  upon  another. — The 
spirit  of  encroachment  tends  to  consolidate  the  powers  of 
all  the  departments  in  one,  and  thus  to  create,  [f]  whatever 
[the  form  of  government,  a  real]  1  despotism. — A  just  esti¬ 
mate  of  that  love  of  power,  and  [§]  proneness  to  abuse  it, 
which  predominates  in  the  human  heart,  is  sufficient  to 
satisfy  us  of  the  truth  of  this  position. — The  necessity  of 
reciprocal  checks  in  the  exercise  of  political  power,  by  divid¬ 
ing  and  distributing  it  into  different  depositories,  and  con¬ 
stituting  each  the  Guardian  of  the  Public  "Weal  [against]  | 
invasions  by  the  others,  has  been  evinced  by  experiments 
ancient  and  modern ;  some  of  them  in  our  country  and  under 
our  own  eyes. — To  preserve  them  must  be  as  necessary  as 
to  institute  them. — If  in  the  opinion  of  the  People,  the  dis¬ 
tribution  or  modification  of  the  Constitutional  powers  be  in 
any  particular  wrong,  let  it  be  corrected  by  an  amendment 
in  the  way  which  the  Constitution  designates. — But  let  there 
be  no  change  by  usurpation;  for  though  this,  in  one  instance, 
may  be  the  instrument  of  good,  it  is  the  [customary]^ 
weapon  by  which  free  governments  are  destroyed. — The 
precedent  [**]  must  always  greatly  overbalance  in  permanent 
evil  any  partial  or  [transient]  ft  benefit  which  the  use  [t|] 
can  at  any  time  yield. — 

Of  all  the  dispositions  and  habits  which  lead  to  political 


*  it  should  not  only  warm,  but 
X  forms,  a  §  the 

T  usual  and  natural 
ft  temporary 


t  under 
|  from 
**  of  its  use 


tt  itself 


450 


U/orl^g  of  U/asfyip^toi)  Iruir>$ 


prosperity,  Religion  and  morality  are  indispensable  supports. 
— In  vain  would  that  man  claim  the  tribute  of  Patriotism, 
who  should  labor  to  subvert  these  great  Pillars  of  human 
happiness,  these  firmest  props  of  the  duties  of  Men  and  Citi¬ 
zens. — The  mere  Politician,  equally  with  the  pious  man, 
ought  to  respect  and  to  cherish  them. — A  volume  could  not 
trace  all  their  connections  with  private  and  public  felicity. — 
Let  it  simply  be  asked  where  is  the  security  for  property, 
for  reputation,  for  life,  if  the  sense  of  religious  obligation 
desert  the  oaths,  which  are  the  instruments  of  investigation 
in  Courts  of  Justice?  And  let  us  with  caution  indulge  the 
supposition  that  morality  can  be  maintained  without  religion. 
—  Whatever  may  be  conceded  to  the  influence  of  refined  edu¬ 
cation  on  minds  of  peculiar  structure — reason  and  experience 
both  forbid  us  to  expect  that  national  morality  can  prevail 
in  exclusion  of  religious  principle. — 

’Tis  substantially  true  that  virtue  or  morality  is  a  neces¬ 
sary  spring  of  popular  government. — The  rule  indeed  extends 
with  more  or  less  force  to  every  species  of  Free  Government. 
— Who  that  is  a  sincere  friend  to  it,  can  look  with  indiffer¬ 
ence  upon  attempts  to  shake  the  foundation  of  the  fabric? — 

[Promote  then  as  an  object  of  primary  importance,  insti¬ 
tutions  for  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge. — In  propor¬ 
tion  as  the  structure  of  a  government  gives  force  to  public 
opinion,  it  is  essential  that  public  opinion  should  be  enlight¬ 
ened.] — * 

*  Cultivate  industry  and  frugality,  as  auxiliaries  to  good 
morals  and  sources  of  private  and  public  prosperity.  — Is  there 
not  room  to  regret  that  our  propensity  to  expense  exceeds 
our  means  for  it?  Is  there  not  more  luxury  among  us  and 
more  diffusively,  than  suits  the  actual  stage  of  our  national 
progress?  Whatever  may  be  the  apology  for  luxury  in  a 
country,  mature  in  the  Arts  which  are  its  ministers,  and  the 
cause  of  national  opulence — can  it  promote  the  advantage 
of  a  young  country,  almost  wholly  agricultural,  in  the  infancy 
of  the  Arts,  and  certainly  not  in  the  maturity  of  wealth? 

(Over  this  paragraph  in  the  original  a  piece  of  paper  is  wa° 
fered,  on  which  the  passage  is  written,  as  printed  in  the  text.) 


Cife  of  U/asfyii)<$tor? 


451 


As  a  very  important  source  of  strength  and  security, 
cherish  public  credit.  — One  method  of  preserving  it  is  to  use 
it  as  [sparingly]  *  as  possible avoiding  occasions  of  expense 
by  cultivating  peace,  but  remembering  also  that  timely  dis¬ 
bursements  to  prepare  for  danger  frequently  prevent  much 
greater  disbursements  to  repel  it — avoiding  likewise  the 
accumulation  of  debt,  not  only  by  [shunning]  f  occasions 
of  expense,  but  by  vigorous  exertions  in  time  of  Peace  to 
discharge  the  debts  which  unavoidable  wars  may  have  occa¬ 
sioned,  not  ungenerously  throwing  upon  posterity  the  burthen 
which  we  ourselves  ought  to  bear.  The  execution  of  these 
maxims  belongs  to  your  Representatives,  but  it  is  necessary 
that  public  opinion  should  [co-operate.]  J — To  facilitate  to 
them  the  performance  of  their  duty,  it  is  essential  that  you 
should  practically  bear  in  mind,  that  toward  the  payment 
of  debts  there  must  be  Revenue — that  to  have  Revenue  there 
must  be  taxes — that  no  taxes  can  be  devised  which  are  not 
more  or  less  inconvenient  and  unpleasant — that  the  intrinsic 
embarrassment  inseparable  from  the  selection  of  the  proper 
objects  (which  is  always  a  choice  of  difficulties)  ought  to  be 
a  decisive  motive  for  a  candid  construction  of  the  conduct 
of  the  Government  in  making  it,  and  for  a  spirit  of  acquies¬ 
cence  in  the  measures  for  obtaining  Revenue  which  the  public 
exigencies  may  at  any  time  dictate. — 

Observe  good  faith  and  justice  toward  all  Nations.  [§J 
Cultivate  peace  and  harmony  with  all. — Religion  and  moral¬ 
ity  enjoin  this  conduct;  and  can  it  be  that  good  policy  does 
not  equally  enjoin  it? — It  will  be  worthy  of  a  free,  enlight¬ 
ened,  and,  at  no  distant  period,  a  great  nation,  to  give  to 
mankind  the  magnanimous  and  too  novel  example  of  a  Peo¬ 
ple  always  guided  by  an  exalted  justice  and  benevolence. — 
Who  can  doubt  but  that  in  the  course  of  time  and  things, 


*  little  t  avoiding  J  coincide 

§  and  cultivate  peace  and  harmony  with  all,  for  in  public 
as  well  as  in  private  transactions,  I  am  persuaded  that  hon¬ 
esty  will  always  be  found  to  be  the  best  policy. 


452 


ll/or^s  of  U/a8t?ir)$toi)  Irvii}<$ 


the  fruits  of  such  a  plan  would  richly  repay  any  temporary 
advantages  which  might  be  lost  by  a  steady  adherence  to  it? 
Can  it  be,  that  Providence  has  not  connected  the  permanent 
felicity  of  a  Nation  with  its  virtue?  The  experiment,  at 
least,  is  recommended  by  every  sentiment  which  ennobles 
human  nature. — Alas!  is  it  rendered  impossible  by  its  vices? 

In  the  execution  of  such  a  plan  nothing  is  more  essential 
than  that  [permanent,  inveterate]  *  antipathies  against  par¬ 
ticular  nations  and  passionate  attachments  for  others  should 
be  excluded;  and  that  in  place  of  them  just  and  amicable 
feelings  toward  all  should  be  cultivated. — The  Nation,  which 
indulges  toward  another  [an]  \  habitual  hatred  or  [an]  J 
habitual  fondness,  is  in  some  degree  a  slave.  It  is  a  slave 
to  its  animosity  or  to  its  affection,  either  of  which  is  sufficient 
to  lead  it  astray  from  its  duty  and  its  interests. — Antipathy 
in  one  Nation  against  another  [§]  disposes  each  more  readily 
to  offer  insult  and  injury,  to  lay  hold  of  slight  causes  of  um¬ 
brage,  and  to  be  haughty  and  intractable,  when  accidental 
or  trifling  occasions  of  dispute  occur. — Hence  frequent  colli¬ 
sions,  obstinate,  envenomed  and  bloody  contests. — The  Na^ 
tion  prompted  by  ill-will  and  resentment  sometimes  impels  to 
War  the  Government,  contrary  to  [the  best]  ||  calculations 
of  policy.  The  Government  sometimes  participates  in  the 
[national]  propensity,  and  adopts  through  passion  what  rea¬ 
son  would  reject; — at  other  times  it  makes  the  animosity  of 
the  Nation  subservient  to  projects  of  hostility,  instigated  by 
pride,  ambition,  and  other  sinister  and  pernicious  motives. — 
The  peace,  often  sometimes  perhaps  the  Liberty,  of  Nations 
has  been  the  victim. — 

So  likewise  a  passionate  attachment  of  one  Nation  for  an¬ 
other  produces  a  variety  of  evils. — Sympathy  for  the  favour¬ 
ite  nation  facilitating  the  illusion  of  an  imaginary  common 
interest  in  cases  where  no  real  common  interest  exists,  and 


*  rooted  fa  J  a 

§  begets  of  course  a  similar  sentiment  in  that  other 
|  its  own 


Cife  of  U/a8f?ir?<$tor) 


453 


infusing  into  one  [*]  the  enmities  of  the  other,  betrays  the 
former  into  a  participation  in  the  quarrels  and  wars  of  the 
latter,  without  adequate  inducement  or  justification :  It  leads 
also  to  concessions  to  the  favourite  Nation  of  privileges  denied 
to  others,  which  is  apt  doubly  to  injure  the  Nation  making 
the  concessions;  [f]  by  unnecessarily  parting  with  what 
ought  to  have  been  retained,  [J]  and  by  exciting  jealousy, 
ill-will,  and  a  disposition  to  retaliate  in  the  parties  from 
whom  equal  privileges  are  withheld ;  and  it  gives  to  ambi¬ 
tious,  corrupted,  or  deluded  citizens  (who  devote  themselves 
to  the  favourite  Nation)  facility  to  betray,  or  sacrifice  the  in¬ 
terests  of  their  own  country  without  odium,  sometimes  even 
with  popularity  -.—gilding  with  the  appearances  of  a  virtuous 
sense  of  obligation,  a  commendable  deference  for  public 
opinion,  or  a  laudable  zeal  for  public  good,  the  base  or  fool¬ 
ish  compliances  of  ambition,  corruption,  or  infatuation. — 

As  avenues  to  foreign  influence  in  innumerable  ways, 
such  attachments  are  particularly  alarming  to  the  truly  en¬ 
lightened  and  independent  patriot.  — How  many  opportunities 
do  they  afford  to  tamper  with  domestic  factions,  to  practice 
the  arts  of  seduction,  to  mislead  public  opinion,  to  influence 
or  awe  the  public  councils! — Such  an  attachment  of  a  small 
and  weak,  toward  a  great  and  powerful  nation,  dooms  the 
former  to  be  the  satellite  of  the  latter. 

Against  the  insidious  wiles  of  foreign  influence,  [I  con¬ 
jure  you  to]  believe  me,  [fellow  citizens], §  the  jealousy  of 
a  free  people  ought  to  be  [constantly]  ||  awake,  since  history 
and  experience  prove  that  foreign  influence  is  one  of  the 
most  baneful  foes  of  Republican  Government. — But  that 
jealousy  to  be  useful  must  be  impartial;  else  it  becomes  the 
instrument  of  the  very  influence  to  be  avoided,  instead  of  a 
defense  against  it. — Excessive  partiality  for  one  foreign  na¬ 
tion  and  excessive  dislike  of  another,  cause  those  whom  they 
actuate  to  see  danger  only  on  one  side,  and  serve  to  veil  and 


*  another 
§  my  friends, 


t  Istly 


t  2dly 
|j  incessantly 


454 


U/orl^s  of  U/asbip^top  Irvii}<$ 


even  second  the  arts  of  influence  on  the  other. — Real  Patri¬ 
ots,  who  may  resist  the  intrigues  of  the  favourite,  are  liable 
to  become  suspected  and  odious ;  while  its  tools  and  dupes 
usurp  the  applause  and  confidence  of  the  people,  to  surrender  • 
their  interests. — 

The  great  rule  of  conduct  for  us,  in  regard  to  Foreign 
Nations  is,  [in  extending  our  commercial  relations,]  to  have 
with  them  as  little  Political  connection  as  possible.  So  far 
as  we  have  already  formed  engagements  let  them  be  fulfilled 
with  [*]  perfect  good  faith. — Here  let  us  stop. — 

Europe  has  a  set  of  primary  interests,  which  to  us  have 
none,  or  a  very  remote  relation. — Hence  she  must  be  en¬ 
gaged  in  frequent  controversies,  the  causes  of  which  are 
essentially  foreign  to  our  concerns. — Hence  therefore  it  must 
be  unwise  in  us  to  implicate  ourselves  by  [f]  artificial  [ties]  J 
in  the  ordinary  vicissitudes  of  her  politics,  [or]  §  the  ordinary 
combinations  and  collisions  of  her  friendships  or  enmities. 

Our  detached  and  distant  situation  invites  and  enables  us 
to  pursue  a  different  course. — If  we  remain  one  People,  un¬ 
der  an  efficient  government,  the  period  is  not  far  off,  when 
we  may  defy  material  injury  from  external  annoyance;  when 
we  may  take  such  an  attitude  as  will  cause  the  neutrality  we 
may  at  any  time  resolve  [upon]  ||  to  be  scrupulously  respected. 
— "When  [T]  belligerent  nations,  under  the  impossibility  of 
making  acquisitions  upon  us,  will  [not]  lightly  hazard  the 
giving  us  provocation  [* § **] ;  when  we  may  choose  peace  or 
war,  as  our  interest  guided  by  [ft]  justice  shall  counsel. — 

Why  forego  the  advantages  of  so  peculiar  a  situation? — 
Why  quit  our  own  to  stand  upon  foreign  ground? — Why,  by 
interweaving  our  destiny  with  that  of  any  part  of  Europe, 
entangle  our  peace  and  prosperity  in  the  toils  of  European 
ambition,  rivalship,  interest,  humor  or  caprice? — 

’Tis  our  true  policy  to  steer  clear  of  permanent  alli- 


*  circumspection  indeed,  but  with  f  an  \  connection 

§  in  ]  to  observe  T  neither  of  two 

**  to  throw  our  weight  into  the  opposite  scale  If  cur 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii}$t:oi) 


455 


ances  [* * * §]  with  any  portion  of  the  foreign  world;— so  far, 
I  mean,  as  we  are  now  at  liberty  to  do  it — for  let  me  not 
be  understood  as  capable  of  patronizing  infidelity  to  [exist¬ 
ing]  f  engagements,  ([I  hold  the  maxim  no  less  applicable  to 
public  than  to  private  affairs]  J,  that  honesty  is  [always] 
the  best  policy). — [I  repeat  it  therefore  let  those  engage¬ 
ments]  §  be  observed  in  their  genuine  sense. — But  in  my 
opinion  it  is  unnecessary,  and  would  be  unwise  to  extend 
them. — 

Taking  care  always  to  keep  ourselves,  by  suitable  estab¬ 
lishments,  on  a  respectably  defensive  posture,  we  may  safely 
trust  to  [temporary]  ||  alliances  for  extraordinary  emer¬ 
gencies. — 

Harmony,  liberal  intercourse  with  all  nations,  are  recom¬ 
mended  by  policy,  humanity  and  interest. — But  even  our  com¬ 
mercial  policy  should  hold  an  equal  and  impartial  hand : — 
neither  seeking  nor  granting  exclusive  favours  or  prefer¬ 
ences; — consulting  the  natural  course  of  things; — diffusing 
and  diversifying  by  gentle  means  the  streams  of  commerce, 
but  forcing  nothing; — establishing  with  Powers  so  disposed — 
in  order  to  give  to  trade  a  stable  course,  to  define  the  rights  of 
our  Merchants  and  to  enable  the  Government  to  support  them 
— conventional  rules  of  intercourse,  the  best  that  present  cir¬ 
cumstances  and  mutual  opinion  will  permit ;  but  temporary, 
and  liable  to  be  from  time  to  time  abandoned  or  varied,  as  ex¬ 
perience  and  circumstances  shall  dictate ;  constantly  keeping 
in  view  that  ’tis  folly  in  one  nation  to  look  for  disinterested 
favours  [from]  %  another, — that  it  must  pay  with  a  portion  of 
its  independence  for  whatever  it  may  accept  under  that  char¬ 
acter — that  by  such  acceptance,  it  may  place  itself  in  the  con¬ 
dition  of  having  given  equivalents  for  nominal  favours  and  yet 
of  being  reproached  with  ingratitude  for  not  giving  more. — 


*  intimate  connections  f  pre-existing 

X  for  I  hold  it  to  be  as  true  in  public  as  in  private 

transactions 

§  those  must  |  occasional  IT  at 


456 


U/orks  of  U/asbffi^top  Iruir)$ 


There  can  be  no  greater  error  than  to  expect,  or  calculate 
upon  real  favours  from  Nation  to  Nation. — ’Tis  an  illusion 
which  experience  must  cure,  which  a  just  pride  ought  to 
discard. 

In  offering  to  you,  my  Countrymen,  these  counsels  of  an 
old  and  affectionate  friend,  I  dare  not  hope  they  will  make 
the  strong  and  lasting  impression,  I  could  wish, — that  they 
will  controul  the  usual  current  of  the  passions  or  prevent  our 
Nation  from  running  the  course  which  has  hitherto  marked 
the  destiny  of  Nations. — But  if  I  may  even  flatter  myself, 
that  they  may  be  productive  of  some  partial  benefit ;  some 
occasional  good ;  that  they  may  now  and  then  recur  to  mod  ¬ 
erate  the  fury  of  party  spirit,  to  warn  against  the  mischiefs 
of  foreign  intrigue,  to  guard  against  the  impostures  of  pre¬ 
tended  patriotism,  this  hope  will  be  a  full  recompense  for 
the  solicitude  for  your  welfare,  by  which  they  have  been 
dictated. — 

How  far,  in  the  discharge  of  my  official  duties,  I  have 
been  guided  by  the  principles  which  have  been  delineated, 
the  public  Records  and  other  evidences  of  my  conduct  must 
witness  to  You,  and  to  the  World. — To  myself,  the  assur¬ 
ance  of  my  own  conscience  is,  that  I  have  at  least  believed 
myself  to  be  guided  by  them. 

In  relation  to  the  still  subsisting  War  in  Europe,  my  Proc¬ 
lamation  of  the  22d  of  April,  1793,  is  the  index  to  my  plan. — 
Sanctioned  by  your  approving  voice  and  by  that  of  Your  Rep¬ 
resentatives  in  both  Houses  of  Congress,  the  spirit  of  that 
measure  has  continually  governed  me : — uninfluenced  by  any 
attempts  to  deter  or  divert  me  from  it. 

After  deliberate  examination  with  the  aid  of  the  best 
lights  I  could  obtain,  [*]  I  was  well  satisfied  that  our  coun¬ 
try,  under  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  had  a  right  to 
take,  and  was  bound  in  duty  and  interest  to  take  a  Neutral 
position. — Having  taken  it,  I  determined,  as  far  as  should 

(*  and  from  men  disagreeing  in  their  impressions  of  the 
origin,  progress,  and  nature  of  that  war,) 


Cife  of 


457 


depend  upon  me,  to  maintain  it,  with  moderation,  persever¬ 
ance  and  firmness. — 

[The  considerations  which  respect  the  right  to  hold  this 
conduct,  [it  is  not  necessary]  *  on  this  occasion  [to  detail.]  I 
will  only  observe,  that  according  to  my  understanding  of  the 
matter,  that  right,  so  far  from  being  denied  by  the  Belliger¬ 
ent  Powers,  has  been  virtually  admitted  by  all. — ]f 

The  duty  of  holding  a  neutral  conduct  may  be  inferred, 
without  anything  more,  from  the  obligation  which  justice 
and  humanity  impose  on  every  Nation,  in  cases  in  which  it 
is  free  to  act,  to  maintain  inviolate  the  relations  of  Peace 
and  Amity  toward  other  Nations. 

The  inducements  of  interest  for  observing  that  conduct, 
will  best  be  referred  to  your  own  reflections  and  experience, 

- With  me,  a  predominant  motive  has  been  to  endeavor  to 

gain  time  to  our  country  to  settle  and  mature  its  yet  recent 
institutions,  and  to  progress  without  interruption  to  that  de¬ 
gree  of  strength  and  consistency,  which  is  necessary  to  give 
it,  humanely  speaking,  the  command  of  its  own  fortunes. 


*  some  of  them  of  a  delicate  nature,  would  be  improperly 
the  subject  of  explanation. 

f  The  considerations  which  respect  the  right  to  hold  this 
conduct,  some  of  them  of  a  delicate  nature,  would  be  improp¬ 
erly  the  subject  of  explanation  on  this  occasion.  I  will  barely 
observe  that  according  to  my  understanding  of  the  matter, 
that  right,  so  far  from  being  denied  by  any  belligerent  Power, 
has  been  virtually  admitted  by  all. — 

This  paragraph  is  then  erased  from  the  word  “conduct,” 
and  the  following  sentence  interlined,  “would  be  improperly 
the  subject  of  particular  discussion  on  this  occasion.  I  will 
barely  observe  that  to  me  they  appear  to  be  warranted  by 
well-established  principles  of  the  Laws  of  Nations  as  appli¬ 
cable  to  the  nature  of  our  alliance  with  France  in  connection 
with  the  circumstances  of  the  War,  and  the  relative  situation 
of  the  contending  Parties.” 

A  piece  of  paper  is  afterward  wafered  over  both,  on  which 
the  paragraph  as  it  stands  in  the  text  is  written,  and  on  the 
margin  is  the  following  note:  “This  is  the  first  draft,  and  it 
is  questionable  which  of  the  two  is  to  be  preferred.” 

Vol.  XV. — *  *  *  20 


458 


U/orl^s  of  U/asbir><$too  Iruir)$ 


Though  in  reviewing  the  incidents  of  my  Administration, 
I  am  unconscious  of  intentional  error — I  am  nevertheless  too 
sensible  of  my  defects  not  to  think  it  probable  that  I  [may] 
have  committed  many  errors. — [Whatever  they  may  be  1]  * 
fervently  beseech  the  Almighty  to  avert  or  mitigate  [the  evils 
to  which  they  may  tend.]  f — I  shall  also  carry  with  me  the 
hope  that  my  country  will  never  cease  to  view  them  with  in¬ 
dulgence  ;  and  that  after  forty- five  years  of  my  life  dedicated 
to  its  service,  with  an  upright  zeal,  the  faults  of  incompetent 
abilities  will  be  consigned  to  oblivion,  as  myself  must  soon  be 
to  the  mansions  of  rest.  [J] 

Relying  on  its  kindness  in  this  as  in  other  things,  and 
actuated  by  that  fervent  love  toward  it,  which  is  so  natural 
to  a  man  who  views  in  it  the  native  soil  of  himself  and  his 
progenitors  for  [several]  §  generations ; — I  anticipate  with 
pleasing  expectation  that  retreat,  in  which  I  promise  myself 
to  realize,  without  alloy,  the  sweet  enjoyment  of  partaking, 
in  the  midst  of  my  fellow-citizens,  the  benign  influence  of 


*  I  deprecate  the  evils  to  which  they  may  tend,  and 
f  them 

l  May  I  without  the  charge  of  ostentation  add,  that 
neither  ambition  nor  interest  has  been  the  impelling  cause  of 
my  actions— that  I  have  never  designedly  misused  any  power 
confided  to  me  nor  hesitated  to  use  one,  where  I  thought  it 
could  redound  to  your  benefit?  May  I  without  the  appear¬ 
ance  of  affectation  say,  that  the  fortune  with  which  I  came 
into  office  is  not  bettered  otherwise  than  by  the  improvement 
in  the  value  of  property  which  the  quick  progress  and  un¬ 
common  prosperity  of  our  country  have  produced?  May  I 
still  further  add  without  breach  of  delicacy,  that  I  shall  re¬ 
tire  without  cause  for  a  blush,  with  no  sentiments  alien  to 
the  force  of  those  vows  for  the  happiness  of  his  country  so 
natural  to  a  citizen  who  sees  in  it  the  native  soil  of  his  pro¬ 
genitors  and  himself  for  four  generations? 

On  the  margin  opposite  this  paragraph  is  the  following 
note:  “This  paragraph  may  have  the  appearance  of  self-dis¬ 
trust  and  mere  vanity.” 

8  four 


Cife  of  U/asbip^top 


459 


good  Laws  under  a  free  Government, — the  ever  favourite 
object  of  my  heart,  and  the  happy  reward,  as  I  trust,  of  our 
mutual  cares,  labours  and  dangers.* 

Go.  Washington. 

United  States,  [1f7QA 
19 th  September ,  $  '  * 


III 

PROCEEDINGS  OF  CONGRESS  IN  CONSE¬ 
QUENCE  OF  THE  DEATH  OF 
WASHINGTON 

SPEECH  OF  JOHN  MARSHALL  TN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRE¬ 
SENTATIVES,  AND  RESOLUTIONS  ADOPTED  BY  THE 
HOUSE,  DECEMBER  19TH,  1799  f 

Mr.  Speaker— 

The  melancholy  event,  which  was  yesterday  announced 
with  doubt,  has  been  rendered  but  too  certain.  Our  Wash¬ 
ington  is  no  more !  The  hero,  the  patriot,  and  the  sage  of 
America;  the  man  on  whom  in  times  of  danger  every  eye 
was  turned  and  all  hopes  were  placed,  lives  now  only  in  his 
own  great  actions,  and  in  the  hearts  of  an  affectionate  and 
afflicted  people. 

If,  Sir,  it  had  even  not  been  usual  openly  to  testify  respect 
for  the  memory  of  those  whom  Heaven  has  selected  as  its  in¬ 
struments  for  dispensing  good  to  man,  yet  such  has  been  the 
uncommon  worth,  and  such  the  extraordinary  incidents  which 


*  The  paragraph  beginning  with  the  words,  ‘  ‘  May  I  with¬ 
out  the  charge  of  ostentation  add,”  having  been  struck  out, 
the  following  note  is  written  on  the  margin  of  that  which  is 
inserted  in  its  place  in  the  text :  ‘  ‘  Continuation  of  the  para¬ 
graph  preceding  the  last  ending  with  the  word  ‘rest.’  ” 

f  The  intelligence  of  the  death  of  Washington  had  been 
received  the  preceding  day,  and  the  House  immediately  ad¬ 
journed.  The  next  morning  Mr.  Marshall  addressed  tlm 
speech  to  the  House. 


460 


U/or^s  of  U/asfyir^tor)  Iruir><$ 


have  marked  the  life  of  him  whose  loss  we  all  deplore,  that 
the  whole  American  nation,  impelled  by  the  same  feelings, 
would  call  with  one  voice  for  a  public  manifestation  of  that 
sorrow,  which  is  so  deep  and  so  universal. 

More  than  any  other  individual,  and  as  much  as  to  one 
individual  was  possible,  has  he  contributed  to  found  this  our 
wide-spreading  empire,  and  to  give  to  the  western  world  in¬ 
dependence  and  freedom. 

Having  effected  the  great  object  for  which  he  was  placed 
at  the  head  of  our  armies,  we  have  seen  him  convert  the 
sword  into  the  plowshare,  and  sink  the  soldier  in  the  citizen. 

When  the  debility  of  our  federal  system  had  become  mani¬ 
fest,  and  the  bonds  which  connected  this  vast  continent  were 
dissolving,  we  have  seen  him  the  chief  of  those  patriots  who 
formed  for  us  a  constitution,  which,  by  preserving  the  union, 
will,  I  trust,  substantiate  and  perpetuate  those  blessings  which 
our  Revolution  had  promised  to  bestow. 

In  obedience  to  the  general  voice  of  his  country,  calling 
him  to  preside  over  a  great  people,  we  have  seen  him  once 
more  quit  the  retirement  he  loved,  and,  in  a  season  more 
stormy  and  tempestuous  than  war  itself,  with  calm  and  wise 
determination  pursue  the  true  interests  of  the  nation,  and 
contribute,  more  than  any  other  could  contribute,  to  the 
establishment  of  that  system  of  policy  which  will,  I  trust, 
yet  preserve  our  peace,  our  honor,  and  our  independence. 

Having  been  twice  unanimously  chosen  the  chief  magis¬ 
trate  of  a  free  people,  we  have  seen  him,  at  a  time  when  his 
re-election  with  universal  suffrage  could  not  be  doubted, 
afford  to  the  world  a  rare  instance  of  moderation,  by  with¬ 
drawing  from  his  station  to  the  peaceful  walks  of  private  life. 

However  the  public  confidence  may  change,  and  the  pub¬ 
lic  affections  fluctuate  with  respect  to  others,  with  respect  to 
him  they  have,  in  war  and  in  peace,  in  public  and  in  private 
life,  been  as  steady  as  his  own  firm  mind,  and  as  constant  as 
his  own  exalted  virtues. 

Let  us,  then,  Mr.  Speaker,  pay  the  last  tribute  of  respect 
and  affection  to  our  departed  friend.  Let  the  grand  council 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii?<$toi) 


461 


of  tlie  nation  display  those  sentiments  which  the  nation  feels. 
For  this  purpose  I  hold  in  my  hand  some  resolutions,  which 
I  take  the  liberty  of  offering  to  the  House. 

Resolved ,  That  this  House  will  wait  on  the  President,  in 
condolence  of  this  mournful  event. 

Resolved ,  That  the  Speaker’s  chair  be  shrouded  with 
black,  and  that  the  members  and  officers  of  the  House  wear 
black  during  the  session. 

Resolved ,  That  a  committee,  in  conjunction  with  one 
from  the  Senate,  be  appointed  to  consider  on  the  most  suit¬ 
able  manner  of  paying  honor  to  the  memory  of  the  man, 
first  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first  in  the  hearts  of  his 
fellow-citizens. 


LETTER  FROM  THE  SENATE  TO  THE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE 

UNITED  STATES 


23  December ,  1799 

Sir— 

The  Senate  of  the  United  States  respectfully  take  leave 
to  express  to  you  their  deep  regret  for  the  loss  their  country 
sustains  in  the  death  of  General  George  Washington. 

This  event,  so  distressing  to  all  our  fellow-citizens,  must 
be  peculiarly  heavy  to  you,  who  have  long  been  associated 
with  him  in  deeds  of  patriotism.  Permit  us,  Sir,  to  mingle 
our  tears  with  yours.  On  this  occasion  it  is  manly  to  weep. 
To  lose  such  a  man,  at  such  a  crisis,  is  no  common  calamity 
to  the  world.  Our  country  mourns  a  father.  The  Almighty 
Disposer  of  human  events  has  taken  from  us  our  greatest 
benefactor  and  ornament.  It  becomes  us  to  submit  with  rev¬ 
erence  to  Him  “who  maketh  darkness  His  pavilion.” 

With  patriotic  pride  we  review  the  life  of  our  Washing¬ 
ton,  and  compare  him  with  those  of  other  countries  who  have 
been  pre-eminent  in  fame.  Ancient  and  modern  times  are 
diminished  before  him.  Greatness  and  guilt  have  too  often 
been  allied ;  but  his  fame  is  whiter  than  it  is  brilliant.  The 
destroyers  of  nations  stood  abashed  at  the  majesty  of  his 


462 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?ii)$toi)  Irv!p$ 


virtues.  It  reproved  the  intemperance  of  their  ambition, 
and  darkened  the  splendor  of  victory.  The  scene  is  closed, 
and  we  are  no  longer  anxious  lest  misfortune  should  sully 
his  glory;  he  has  traveled  on  to  the  end  of  his  journey,  and 
carried  with  him  an  increasing  weight  of  honor;  he  has  de¬ 
posited  it  safely,  where  misfortune  cannot  tarnish  it,  where 
malice  cannot  blast  it.  Favored  of  Heaven,  he  departed 
without  exhibiting  the  weakness  of  humanity.  Magnani¬ 
mous  in  death,  the  darkness  of  the  grave  could  not  obscure 
his  brightness. 

Such  was  the  man  whom  we  deplore.  Thanks  to  God, 
his  glory  is  consummated.  Washington  yet  lives  on  earth 
in  his  spotless  example ;  his  spirit  is  in  Heaven. 

Let  his  countrymen  consecrate  the  memory  of  the  heroic 
general,  the  patriotic  statesman,  and  the  virtuous  sage.  Let 
them  teach  their  children  never  to  forget  that  the  fruits  of 
his  labors  and  his  example  are  their  inheritance. 


THE  PRESIDENT’S  ANSWER 

23  December,  1799 

Gentlemen  of  the  Senate — 

I  receive  with  the  most  respectful  and  affectionate  senti¬ 
ments,  in  this  impressive  address,  the  obliging  expressions 
of  your  regret  for  the  loss  our  country  has  sustained  in  the 
death  of  her  most  esteemed,  beloved,  and  admired  citizen. 

In  the  multitude  of  my  thoughts  and  recollections  on  this 
melancholy  event,  you  will  permit  me  to  say  that  I  have  seen 
him  in  the  days  of  adversity,  in  some  of  the  scenes  of  his 
deepest  distress  and  most  trying  perplexities.  I  have  also 
attended  him  in  his  highest  elevation  and  most  prosperous 
felicity,  with  uniform  admiration  of  his  wisdom,  moderation, 
and  constancy. 

Among  all  our  original  associates  in  that  memorable  league 
of  this  continent,  in  1774,  which  first  expressed  the  sovereign 
will  of  a  free  nation  in  America,  he  was  the  only  one  remain- 


Cife  of  U/as^ip<$tor> 


463 


ing  in  the  general  government.  Although  with  a  constitu¬ 
tion  more  enfeebled  than  his,  at  an  age  when  he  thought  it 
necessary  to  prepare  for  retirement,  I  feel  myself  alone,  be¬ 
reaved  of  my  last  brother,  yet  I  derive  a  strong  consolation 
from  the  unanimous  disposition  which  appears  in  all  ages 
and  classes,  to  mingle  their  sorrows  with  mine  on  this  com¬ 
mon  calamity  to  the  world. 

The  life  of  our  Washington  cannot  suffer  by  a  compari¬ 
son  with  those  of  other  countries  who  have  been  most  cele¬ 
brated  and  exalted  by  fame.  The  attributes  and  decorations 
of  royalty  could  only  have  served  to  eclipse  the  majesty  of 
those  virtues  which  made  him,  from  being  a  modest  citizen, 
a  more  resplendent  luminary.  Misfortune,  had  he  lived, 
could  hereafter  have  sullied  his  glory  only  with  those  super¬ 
ficial  minds,  who,  believing  that  character  and  actions  are 
marked  by  success  alone,  rarely  deserve  to  enjoy  it.  Malice 
could  never  blast  his  honor,  and  envy  made  him  a  singular 
exception  to  her  universal  rule.  For  himself,  he  had  lived 
long  enough  to  life  and  to  glory;  for  his  fellow-citizens,  if 
their  prayers  could  have  been  answered,  he  would  have  been 
immortal;  for  me,  his  departure  is  at  a  most  unfortunate 
moment.  Trusting,  however,  in  the  wise  and  righteous  do¬ 
minion  of  Providence  over  the  passions  of  men  and  the  re¬ 
sults  of  their  actions,  as  well  as  over  their  lives,  nothing 
remains  for  me  but  humble  resignation. 

His  example  is  now  complete;  and  it  will  teach  wisdom 
and  virtue  to  magistrates,  citizens,  and  men,  not  only  in  the 
present  age,  but  in  future  generations,  as  long  as  our  history 
shall  be  read.  If  a  Trajan  found  a  Pliny,  a  Marcus  Aurelius 
can  never  want  biographers,  eulogists,  or  historians. 

John  Adams. 


464 


U/or^s  of  U/asl?ir}<$tor)  Iruii}$ 


JOINT  RESOLUTIONS  ADOPTED  BY  BOTH  HOUSES  OP 

CONGRESS 

December  23 d.  Resolved ,  by  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America,  in  Congress 
assembled,  That  a  marble  monument  be  erected  by  the  United 
States  at  the  Capitol  of  the  city  of  Washington,  and  that  the 
family  of  General  W  ashington  be  requested  to  permit  his 
body  to  be  deposited  under  it,  and  that  the  monument  be  so 
designed  as  to  commemorate  the  great  events  of  his  military 
and  political  life. 

And  be  it  further  resolved ,  That  there  be  a  funeral  pro¬ 
cession  from  Congress  Hall  to  the  German  Lutheran  Church, 
in  memory  of  General  George  Washington,  on  Thursday,  the 
26th  instant,  and  that  an  oration  be  prepared  at  the  request 
of  Congress,  to  be  delivered  before  both  Houses  that  day; 
and  that  the  President  of  the  Senate,  and  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  be  desired  to  request  one  of  the 
Members  of  Congress  to  prepare  and  deliver  the  same. 

And  be  it  further  resolved ,  That  it  be  recommended  to 
the  people  of  the  United  States  to  wear  crape  on  their  left 
arm,  as  mourning,  for  thirty  days. 

And  be  it  further  resolved ,  That  the  President  of  the 
United  States  be  requested  to  direct  a  copy  of  these  resolu¬ 
tions  to  be  transmitted  to  Mrs.  Washington,  assuring  her  of 
the  profound  respect  Congress  will  ever  bear  for  her  person 
and  character,  of  their  condolence  on  the  late  afflicting  dis¬ 
pensation  of  Providence;  and  entreating  her  assent  to  the 
interment  of  the  remains  of  General  W ashington  in  the  man¬ 
ner  expressed  in  the  first  resolution. 

Resolved ,  That  the  President  of  the  United  States  be  re¬ 
quested  to  issue  his  proclamation,  notifying  to  the  people 
throughout  the  United  States  the  recommendation  contained 
in  the  third  resolution. 

December  30th.  Resolved ,  That  it  be  recommended  to 
the  people  of  the  United  States  to  assemble,  on  the  twenty- 


Cife  of  U/asl?ii)<$toi) 


465 


second  day  of  February  next,  in  such  numbers  and  manner 
as  may  be  convenient,  publicly  to  testify  their  grief  for  the 
death  of  General  George  Washington,  by  suitable  eulogies, 
orations,  and  discourses,  or  by  public  prayers. 

And  it  is  further  resolved ,  That  the  President  be  re¬ 
quested  to  issue  a  proclamation  for  the  purpose  of  carrying 
the  foregoing  resolution  into  effect. 


IV 

WASHINGTON'S  WILL 

In  the  Name  of  God,  Amen: 

I,  George  Washington,  of  Mount  Vernon,  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  and  lately  President  of  the  same,  do  make, 
ordain,  and  declare  this  instrument,  which  is  written  with 
my  own  hand,  and  every  page  thereof  subscribed  with  my 
name,*  to  be  my  last  Will  and  Testament,  revoking  all 
others. 

Imprimis. — All  my  debts,  of  which  there  are  but  few, 
and  none  of  magnitude,  are  to  be  punctually  and  speedily* 
paid,  and  the  legacies  herein  after  bequeathed  are  to  be  dis¬ 
charged  as  soon  as  circumstances  will  permit,  and  in  the 
manner  directed. 

Item.— To  my  dearly  beloved  wife,  Martha  Washing¬ 
ton ,  I  give  and  bequeath  the  use,  profit,  and  benefit  of  my 
whole  estate  real  and  personal,  for  the  term  of  her  natural 
life,  except  such  parts  thereof  as  are  specially  disposed  of 
hereafter.  My  improved  lot  in  the  town  of  Alexandria,  situ¬ 
ated  on  Pitt  and  Cameron  streets,  I  give  to  her  and  her  heirs 
forever ;  as  I  also  do  my  household  and  kitchen  furniture  of 
every  sort  and  kind,  with  the  liquors  and  groceries  which 
may  be  on  hand  at  the  time  of  my  decease,  to  be  used  and 
disposed  of  as  she  may  think  proper. 

*  In  the  original  manuscript,  George  Washington’s 
name  was  written  at  the  bottom  of  every  page. 


466 


U/orl^s  of  U/asbffi^toi}  Iruir>$ 


Item. — Upon  the  decease  of  my  wife,  it  is  my  will  and 
desire  that  all  the  slaves  whom  I  hold  in  my  own  right  shall 
receive  their  freedom.  To  emancipate  them  during  her  life 
would,  though  earnestly  wished  by  me,  be  attended  with 
such  insuperable  difficulties,  on  account  of  their  intermixture 
by  marriage  with  the  dower  negroes,  as  to  excite  the  most 
painful  sensations,  if  not  disagreeable  consequences  to  the 
latter,  while  both  descriptions  are  in  the  occupancy  of  the 
same  proprietor ;  it  not  being  in  my  power,  under  the  tenure 
by  which  the  dower  negroes  are  held,  to  manumit  them. 
And  whereas,  among  those  who  will  receive  freedom  accord¬ 
ing  to  this  device,  there  may  be  some,  who,  from  old  age  or 
bodily  infirmities,  and  others  who,  on  account  of  their  in¬ 
fancy,  will  be  unable  to  support  themselves,  it  is  my  will 
and  desire,  that  all  who  come  under  the  first  and  second  de¬ 
scription,  shall  be  comfortably  clothed  and  fed  by  my  heirs 
while  they  live ;  and  that  such  of  the  latter  description  as 
have  no  parents  living,  or,  if  living,  are  unable  or  unwilling 
to  provide  for  them,  shall  be  bound  by  the  court  until  they 
shall  arrive  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  years;  and  in  cases 
where  no  record  can  be  produced,  whereby  their  ages  can 
be  ascertained,  the  judgment  of  the  court,  upon  its  own  view 
of  the  subject,  shall  be  adequate  and  final.  The  negroes  thus 
bound  are  (by  their  masters  or  mistresses)  to  be  taught  to 
read  and  write,  and  to  be  brought  up  to  some  useful  occupa¬ 
tion,  agreeable  to  the  laws  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia, 
providing  for  the  support  of  orphan  and  other  poor  children. 
And  I  do  hereby  expressly  forbid  the  sale  or  transportation 
out  of  the  said  Commonwealth,  of  any  slave  I  may  die  pos¬ 
sessed  of,  under  any  pretense  whatsoever.  And  I  do,  more¬ 
over,  most  pointedly  and  most  solemnly  enjoin  it  upon  my 
executors  hereafter  named,  or  the  survivors  of  them,  to  see 
that  this  clause  respecting  slaves,  and  every  part  thereof,  be 
religiously  fulfilled  at  the  epoch  at  which  it  is  directed  to 
take  place,  without  evasion,  neglect,  or  delay,  after  the  crops 
which  may  then  be  on  the  ground  are  harvested,  particularly 
as  it  respects  the  aged  and  infirm ;  seeing  that  a  regular  and 


Ctfe  of  Urasl?iQ<$toi) 


467 


permanent  fund  be  established  for  their  support,  as  long  as 
there  are  subjects  requiring  it;  not  trusting  to  the  uncertain 
provision  to  be  made  by  individuals.  And  to  my  mulatto 
man,  William ,  calling  himself  William  Lee ,  I  give  imme¬ 
diate  freedom,  or,  if  he  should  prefer  it  (on  account  of  the 
accidents  which  have  befallen  him,  and  which  have  rendered 
him  incapable  of  walking,  or  of  any  active  employment),  to 
remain  in  the  situation  he  now  is,  it  shall  be  optional  in  him 
to  do  so ;  in  either  case,  however,  I  allow  him  an  annuity  of 
thirty  dollars,  during  his  natural  life,  which  shall  be  inde¬ 
pendent  of  the  victuals  and  clothes  he  has  been  accustomed 
to  receive,  if  he  chooses  the  last  alternative ;  but  in  full  with 
his  freedom,  if  he  prefers  the  first;  and  this  I  give  him  as  a 
testimony  of  my  sense  of  his  attachment  to  me,  and  for  his 
faithful  services  during  the  Revolutionary  war. 

Item . — To  the  trustees  (governors,  or  by  whatsoever  other 
name  they  may  be  designated)  of  the  Academy  in  the  town 
of  Alexandria,  I  give  and  bequeath,  in  trust,  four  thousand 
dollars,  or  in  other  words,  twenty  of  the  shares  which  I  hold 
in  the  Bank  of  Alexandria,  toward  the  support  of  a  free 
school,  established  at  and  annexed  to,  the  said  Academy,  for 
the  purpose  of  educating  such  orphan  children,  or  the  chil¬ 
dren  of  such  other  poor  and  indigent  persons,  who  are  unable 
to  accomplish  it  with  their  own  means,  and  who,  in  the  judg¬ 
ment  of  the  trustees  of  the  said  seminary,  are  best  entitled 
to  the  benefit  of  this  donation.  The  aforesaid  twenty  shares 
I  give  and  bequeath  in  perpetuity;  the  dividends  only  of 
which  are  to  be  drawn  for  and  applied,  by  the  said  trustees 
for  the  time  being,  for  the  uses  above  mentioned;  the  stock 
to  remain  entire  and  untouched,  unless  indications  of  failure 
of  the  said  bank  should  be  so  apparent,  or  a  discontinuance 
thereof  should  render  a  removal  of  this  fund  necessary.  In 
either  of  these  cases,  the  amount  of  the  stock  here  devised 
is  to  be  vested  in  some  other  bank  or  public  institution, 
whereby  the  interest  may  with  regularity  and  certainty  be 
drawn  and  applied  as  above.  And  to  prevent  misconception, 
my  meaning  is,  and  is  hereby  declared  to  be,  that  these 


468 


ll/orl^s  of  U/asl?ii)$toi)  Irvip$ 


twenty  shares  are  in  lieu  of,  and  not  in  addition  to,  the  thou¬ 
sand  pounds  given  by  a  missive  letter  some  years  ago,  in 
consequence  whereof  an  annuity  of  fifty  pounds  has  since 
been  paid  toward  the  support  of  this  institution. 

Item. — Whereas,  by  a  law  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Vir¬ 
ginia,  enacted  in  the  year  1785,  the  Legislature  thereof  was 
pleased,  as  an  evidence  of  its  approbation  of  the  services  I 
had  rendered  the  public  during  the  Revolution,  and  partly, 
I  believe,  in  consideration  of  my  having  suggested  the  vast 
advantages  which  the  community  would  derive  from  the 
extension  of  its  inland  navigation  under  legislative  patron¬ 
age,  to  present  me  with  one  hundred  shares  of  one  hundred 
dollars  each,  in  the  incorporated  Company,  established  for 
the  purpose  of  extending  the  navigation  of  James  River  from 
the  tide  water  to  the  mountains;  and  also  with  fifty  shares 
of  £100  sterling  each,  in  the  corporation  of  another  company, 
likewise  established  for  the  similar  purpose  of  opening  the 
navigation  of  the  River  Potomac  from  the  tide  water  to  Fort 
Cumberland ;  the  aceptance  of  which,  although  the  offer  was 
highly  honorable  and  grateful  to  my  feelings,  was  refused, 
as  inconsistent  with  a  principle  which  I  had  adopted  and  had 
never  departed  from,  viz.,  not  to  receive  pecuniary  compensa¬ 
tion  for  any  services  I  could  render  my  country  in  its  arduous 
struggle  with  Great  Britain  for  its  rights,  and  because  I  had 
evaded  similar  propositions  from  other  States  in  the  Union; 
adding  to  this  refusal,  however,  an  intimation,  that,  if  it 
should  be  the  pleasure  of  the  Legislature  to  permit  me  to 
appropriate  the  said  shares  to  public  uses ,  I  would  receive 
them  on  those  terms  with  due  sensibility ;  and  this  it  having 
consented  to  in  flattering  terms,  as  will  appear  by  a  subse¬ 
quent  law,  and  sundry  resolutions,  in  the  most  ample  and 
honorable  manner; — I  proceed,  after  this  recital,  for  the 
more  correct  understanding  of  the  case,  to  declare:  that, 
as  it  has  always  been  a  source  of  serious  regret  with  me,  to 
see  the  youth  of  these  United  States  sent  to  foreign  countries 
for  the  purpose  of  education,  often  before  their  minds  were 
formed,  or  they  had  imbibed  any  adequate  ideas  of  the  happi- 


Cife  of  U/a8l?ir)<$toi) 


469 


ness  of  their  own ;  contracting  too  frequently,  not  only  habits 
of  dissipation  and  extravagance,  but  principles  unfriendly 
to  republican  government,  and  to  the  true  and  genuine  lib¬ 
erties  of  mankind,  which  thereafter  are  rarely  overcome; 
for  these  reasons  it  has  been  my  ardent  wish  to  see  a  plan 
devised  on  a  liberal  scale,  which  would  have  a  tendency  to 
spread  systematic  ideas  through  all  parts  of  this  rising  em¬ 
pire,  thereby  to  do  away  local  attachments  and  State  preju¬ 
dices,  as  far  as  the  nature  of  things  would,  or  indeed  ought 
to  admit,  from  our  national  councils.  Looking  anxiously 
forward  to  the  accomplishment  of  so  desirable  an  object 
as  this  is  (in  my  estimation),  my  mind  has  not  been  able 
to  contemplate  any  plan  more  likely  to  effect  the  measure 
than  the  establishment  of  a  University  in  a  central  part 
of  the  United  States,  to  which  the  youths  of  fortune  and 
talents  from  all  parts  thereof  may  be  sent  for  the  completion 
of  their  education,  in  all  the  branches  of  polite  literature, 
in  arts  and  sciences,  in  acquiring  knowledge  in  the  principles 
of  politics  and  good  government,  and,  as  a  matter  of  infinite 
importance  in  my  judgment,  by  associating  with  each  other 
and  forming  friendships  in  juvenile  years,  be  enabled  to 
free  themselves  in  a  proper  degree  from  those  local  preju¬ 
dices  and  habitual  jealousies  which  have  just  been  mentioned, 
and  which,  when  carried  to  excess,  are  never-failing  sources 
of  disquietude  to  the  public  mind,  and  pregnant  of  mischiev¬ 
ous  consequences  to  this  country.  Under  these  impressions, 
so  fully  dilated, 

Item. — I  give  and  bequeath,  in  perpetuity,  the  fifty  shares 
which  I  hold  in  the  Potomac  company  (under  the  aforesaid 
acts  of  the  Legislature  of  Virginia),  toward  the  endowment 
of  a  University,  to  be  established  within  the  limits  of  the 
District  of  Columbia,  under  the  auspices  of  the  general  gov¬ 
ernment,  if  that  government  should  incline  to  extend  a  foster¬ 
ing  hand  toward  it ;  and,  until  such  seminary  is  established, 
and  the  funds  arising  on  these  shares  shall  be  required  for 
its  support,  my  further  will  and  desire  is,  that  the  profit 
accruing  therefrom  shall,  whenever  the  dividends  are  made, 


470 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?ir}<$toi7  Iruir?<$ 


be  laid  out  in  purchasing  stock  in  the  bank  of  Columbia,  or 
some  other  bank,  at  the  discretion  of  my  executors,  or  by  the 
Treasurer  of  the  United  States  for  the  time  being  under 
the  direction  of  Congress,  provided  that  honorable  body 
should  patronize  the  measure;  and  the  dividends  proceeding 
from  the  purchase  of  such  stock  are  to  be  vested  in  more 
stock,  and  so  on,  until  a  sum  adequate  to  the  accomplish¬ 
ment  of  the  object  is  obtained;  of  which  I  have  not  the 
smallest  doubt,  before  many  years  pass  away,  even  if  no 
aid  or  encouragement  is  given  by  the  legislative  authority, 
or  from  any  other  source. 

Item. — The  hundred  shares  which  I  hold  in  the  James 
River  Company,  I  have  given  and  now  confirm  in  perpetuity, 
to  and  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  Liberty  Hall  Academy, 
in  the  County  of  Rockbridge  in  the  Commonwealth  of  Vir¬ 
ginia. 

Item. — I  release,  exonerate,  and  discharge  the  estate  of 
my  deceased  brother,  Samuel  Washington ,  from  the  pay¬ 
ment  of  the  money  which  is  due  to  me  for  the  land  I  sold 
to  Philip  Pendleton  (lying  in  the  county  of  Berkeley),  who 
assigned  the  same  to  him,  the  said  Samuel ,  who  by  agree¬ 
ment  was  to  pay  me  therefor.  And  whereas,  by  some  con¬ 
tract  (the  purport  of  which  was  never  communicated  to  me) 
between  the  said  Samuel  and  his  son,  Thornton  Washing¬ 
ton ,  the  latter  became  possessed  of  the  aforesaid  land,  with¬ 
out  any  conveyance  having  passed  from  me,  either  to  the 
said  Pendleton ,  the  said  Samuel ,  or  the  said  Thornton ,  and 
without  any  consideration  having  been  made,  by  which 
neglect  neither  the  legal  nor  equitable  title  has  been  alien¬ 
ated;  it  rests  therefore  with  me  to  declare  my  intentions 
concerning  the  premises ;  and  these  are,  to  give  and  bequeath 
the  said  land  to  whomsoever  the  said  Thornton  Washington 
(who  is  also  dead)  devised  the  same,  or  to  his  heirs  forever, 
if  he  died  intestate ;  exonerating  the  estate  of  the  said  Thorn¬ 
ton ,  equally  with  that  of  the  said  Samuel ,  from  payment 
of  the  purchase  money,  which,  with  interest,  agreeably  to 
the  original  contract  with  the  said  Pendleton ,  would  amount 


Cife  of  \lf asl?ii}<$toi} 


471 


more  than  a  thousand  pounds.  And  whereas  two  other 
sons  of  my  said  deceased  brother  Samuel,  namely,  George 
Steptoe  Washington,  and  Lawrence  Augustine  Washing - 
ton,  were,  by  the  decease  of  those  to  whose  care  they  were 
committed,  brought  under  my  protection,  and,  in  conse¬ 
quence,  have  occasioned  advances  on  my  part  for  their  edu¬ 
cation  at  college  and  other  schools,  for  their  board,  clothing, 
and  other  incidental  expenses,  to  the  amount  of  near  five 
thousand  dollars,  over  and  above  the  sums  furnished  by  their 
estate,  which  sum  it  may  be  inconvenient  for  them  or  their 
father’s  estate  to  refund;  I  do  for  these  reasons  acquit  them 
and  the  said  estate  from  the  payment  thereof,  my  intention 
being,  that  all  accounts  between  them  and  me,  and  their 
father’s  estate  and  me,  shall  stand  balanced. 

Item. — The  balance  due  to  me  from  the  estate  of  Barthol¬ 
omew  Dandridge ,  deceased  (my  wife’s  brother),  and  which 
amounted  on  the  first  day  of  October,  1795,  to  four  hundred 
and  twenty-five  pounds  (as  will  appear  by  an  account  ren¬ 
dered  by  his  deceased  son,  John  Dandridge,  who  was  the 
acting  executor  of  his  father’s  will),  I  release  and  acquit 
from  the  payment  thereof.  And  the  negroes,  then  thirty- 
three  in  number,  formerly  belonging  to  the  said  estate,  who 
were  taken  in  execution,  sold,  and  purchased  in  on  my  ac¬ 
count,  in  the  year  {blank),  and  ever  since  have  remained 
in  the  possession  and  to  the  use  of  Mary,  widow  of  the  said 
Bartholomew  Dandridge,  with  their  increase,  it  is  my  will 
and  desire  shall  continue  and  be  in  her  possession,  without 
paying  hire,  or  making  compensation  for  the  same  for  the 
time  past,  or  to  come,  during  her  natural  life ;  at  the  expira¬ 
tion  of  which,  I  direct  that  all  of  them  who  are  forty  years 
old  and  upward  shall  receive  their  freedom;  and  all  under 
that  age,  and  above  sixteen,  shall  serve  seven  years  and  no 
longer;  and  all  under  sixteen  years  shall  serve  until  they 
are  twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  then  be  free.  And,  to 
avoid  disputes  respecting  the  ages  of  any  of  these  negroes, 
they  are  to  be  taken  into  the  court  of  the  county  in  which 
they  reside,  and  the  judgment  thereof,  in  this  relation,  shall 


472 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?ir}<$toi)  Iruii}<$ 


be  final  and  record  thereof  made,  which  may  be  adduced 
as  evidence  at  any  time  thereafter  if  disputes  should  arise 
concerning  the  same.  And  I  further  direct,  that  the  heirs 
of  the  said  Bartholomew  Dandridge  shall  equally  share  the 
benefits  arising  from  the  services  of  the  said  negroes  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  tenor  of  this  device,  upon  the  decease  of  their 
mother. 

Item. — If  Charles  Carter ,  who  intermarried  with  my 
niece  Betty  Lewis ,  is  not  sufficiently  secured  in  the  title 
to  the  lots  he  had  of  me  in  the  town  of  Fredericksburg,  it 
is  my  will  and  desire  that  my  executors  shall  make  such 
conveyances  of  them  as  the  law  requires  to  render  it  perfect. 

Item. — To  my  nephew,  William  Augustine  Washing¬ 
ton ,  and  his  heirs  (if  he  should  conceive  them  to  be  objects 
worth  prosecuting),  a  lot  in  the  town  of  Manchester  (opposite 
to  Richmond),  No.  265,  drawn  on  my  sole  account,  and  also 
the  tenth  of  one  or  two  hundred  acre  lots,  and  two  or  three 
half-acre  lots,  in  the  city  and  vicinity  of  Richmond,  drawn 
in  partnership  with  nine  others,  all  in  the  lottery  of  the  de¬ 
ceased  William  Byrd ,  are  given;  as  is  also  a  lot  which 
I  purchased  of  John  Hood ,  conveyed  by  William  Willie 
and  Samuel  Gordon ,  trustees  of  the  said  John  Hood ,  num¬ 
bered  139,  in  the  town  of  Edinburgh,  in  the  County  of  Prince 
George,  State  of  Virginia. 

Item. — To  my  nephew,  Bushrod  Washington,*  I  give 
and  bequeath  all  the  papers  in  my  possession  which  relate 
to  my  civil  and  military  administration  of  the  affairs  of  this 
country.  I  leave  to  him  also  such  of  my  private  papers  as 
are  worth  preserving;  and  at  the  decease  of  my  wife,  and 
before,  if  she  is  not  inclined  to  retain  them,  I  give  and  be¬ 
queath  my  library  of  books  and  pamphlets  of  every  kind. 

Item. — Having  sold  lands  which  I  possessed  in  the  State 

*  As  General  "Washington  never  had  any  children,  he 
gave  the  larger  part  of  his  property  to  his  nephews  and 
nieces,  and  the  children  of  Mrs.  Washington’s  son  by  her 
first  marriage.  The  principal  heir  was  Bushrod  Washington, 
eon  of  his  brother  John  Augustine  Washington. 


Cife  of  U/asl?ir}<$toi) 


473 


of  Pennsylvania  and  part  of  a  tract  held  in  equal  right  with 
George  Clinton ,  late  governor  of  New  York,  in  the  State 
of  New  York,  my  share  of  land  and  interest  in  the  Great 
Dismal  Swamp,  and  a  tract  of  land  which  I  owned  in  the 
County  of  Gloucester — withholding  the  legal  titles  thereto, 
until  the  consideration  money  should  be  paid — and  having 
moreover  leased  and  conditionally  sold  (as  will  appear  by 
the  tenor  of  the  said  leases)  all  my  lands  upon  the  Great 
Kenhawa,  and  a  tract  upon  Difficult  Run,  in  the  County 
of  Loudoun,  it  is  my  will  and  direction,  that  whensoever  the 
contracts  are  fully  and  respectively  complied  with,  according 
to  the  spirit,  true  intent,  and  meaning  thereof,  on  the  part 
of  the  purchasers,  their  heirs  or  assigns,  that  then,  and  in 
that  case,  conveyances  are  to  be  made,  agreeable  to  the 
terms  of  the  said  contracts,  and  the  money  arising  therefrom, 
when  paid,  to  be  vested  in  bank  stock;  the  dividends  whereof, 
as  of  that  also  which  is  already  vested  therein,  are  to  inure 
to  my  said  wife  during  her  life;  but  the  stock  itself  is  to 
remain  and  be  subject  to  the  general  distribution  hereafter 
directed. 

Item. — To  the  Earl  of  Buchan  I  recommit  the  1  ‘Box 
made  of  the  Oak  that  sheltered  the  great  Sir  William  Wal¬ 
lace,  after  the  battle  of  Falkirk,”  presented  to  me  by  his 
Lordship,  in  terms  too  flattering  for  me  to  repeat,  with  a 
request  “to  pass  it,  on  the  event  of  my  decease,  to  the  man 
in  my  country  who  should  appear  to  merit  it  best,  upon  the 
same  conditions  that  have  induced  him  to  send  it  tome.” 
'Whether  easy  or  not  to  select  the  man,  who  might  comport 
with  his  Lordship’s  opinion  in  this  respect,  is  not  for  me  to 
say ;  but,  conceiving  that  no  disposition  of  this  valuable  curi¬ 
osity  can  be  more  eligible  than  the  recommitment  of  it  to  his 
own  cabinet,  agreeably  to  the  original  design  of  the  Gold¬ 
smiths’  Company  of  Edinburgh,  who  presented  it  to  him, 
and,  at  his  request,  consented  that  it  should  be  transferred 
to  me,  I  do  give  and  bequeath  the  same  to  his  Lordship; 
and,  in  case  of  his  decease,  to  his  heir,  with  my  grateful 
thanks  for  the  distinguished  honor  of  presenting  it  to  me, 


474 


U/orl^s  of  U/a8bip<$tor)  Irvip<$ 


and  more  especially  for  the  favorable  sentiments  with  wdiich 
he  accompanied  it. 

Item. — To  my  brother,  Charles  Washington ,  I  give  and 
bequeath  the  gold-headed  cane  left  me  by  Dr.  Franklin  in 
his  will.  I  add  nothing  to  it,  because  of  the  ample  provision 
I  have  made  for  his  issue.  To  the  acquaintances  and  friends 
of  my  juvenile  years,  Lawrence  Washington  and  Robei't 
Washington ,  of  Chotanck,  I  give  my  other  two  gold-headed 
canes,  having  my  arms  engraved  on  them ;  and  to  each,  as 
they  will  be  useful  where  they  live,  I  leave  one  of  the  spy¬ 
glasses,  which  constituted  part  of  my  equipage  during  the 
late  war.  To  my  compatriot  in  arms  and  old  and  intimate 
friend,  Dr,  Craik ,  I  give  my  bureau  (or,  as  the  cabinet¬ 
makers  call  it,  tambour  secretary)  and  the  circular  chair,  an 
appendage  of  my  study.  To  Dr.  David  Stewart  I  give  my 
large  shaving  and  dressing  table,  and  my  telescope.  To  the 
Reverend,  now  Bryan ,  Lord  Fairfax ,  I  give  a  Bible,  in 
three  large  folio  volumes,  with  notes,  presented  to  me  by  the 
Right  Reverend  Thomas  Wilson ,  Bishop  of  Sodor  and  Man. 
To  General  de  Lafayette  I  give  a  pair  of  finely-wrought 
steel  pistols,  taken  from  the  enemy  in  the  Revolutionary 
war.  To  my  sisters-in-law,  Hannah  Washington  and  Mil¬ 
dred  Washington,  to  my  friends,  Eleanor  Stuart ,  Hannah 
Washington ,  of  Fairfield,  and  Elizabeth  Washington,  of 
Hayfield,  I  give  each  a  mourning  ring,  of  the  value  of  one 
hundred  dollars.  These  bequests  are  not  made  for  the  in¬ 
trinsic  value  of  them,  but  as  mementos  of  my  esteem  and 
regard.  To  Tobias  Lear  I  give  the  use  of  the  farm,  which 
he  now  holds  in  virtue  of  a  lease  from  me  to  him  and  his 
deceased  wife  (for  and  during  their  natural  lives),  free  from 
rent  during  his  life ;  at  the  expiration  of  which,  it  is  to  be 
disposed  of  as  is  hereinafter  directed.  To  Sallie  B.  Haynie 
(a  distant  relation  of  mine),  I  give  and  bequeath  three  hun¬ 
dred  dollars.  To  Sarah  Green ,  daughter  of  the  deceased 
Thomas  Bishop,  and  to  Ann  Walker ,  daughter  of  John 
Alton ,  also  deceased,  I  give  each  one  hundred  dollars,  in 
consideration  of  the  attachment  of  their  fathers  to  me;  each 


Cife  of  U/asfiiQ^tor) 


475 


of  whom  having  lived  nearly  forty  years  in  my  family.  To 
each  of  my  nephews,  William  Augustine  Washington , 
George  Lewis ,  George  Steptoe  Washington ,  Bushrod 
Washington ,  and  Samuel  Washington ,  I  give  one  of  the 
swords  or  couteaux,  of  which  I  may  die  possessed ;  and  they 
are  to  choose  in  the  order  they  are  named.  These  swords 
are  accompanied  with  an  injunction  not  to  unsheathe  them 
for  the  purpose  of  shedding  blood,  except  it  be  for  self  defense 
or  in  defense  of  their  country  and  its  rights ;  and  in  the  latter 
case  to  keep  them  unsheathed,  and  prefer  falling  with  them 
in  their  hands  to  the  relinquishment  thereof. 

And  now,  having  gone  through  these  specific  devices, 
with  explanations  for  the  more  correct  understanding  of  the 
meaning  and  design  of  them,  I  proceed  to  the  distribution 
of  the  more  important  part  of  my  estate,  in  manner  following : 

First. — To  my  nephew,  Bushrod  Washington ,  and  his 
heirs  (partly  in  consideration  of  an  intimation  to  his  deceased 
father,  while  we  were  bachelors,  and  he  had  kindly  under¬ 
taken  to  superintend  my  estate  during  my  militarj7,  services 
in  the  former  war  between  Great  Britain  and  France,  that, 
if  I  should  fall  therein,  Mount  Yernon,  then  less  extensive 
in  domain  than  at  present,  should  become  his  property),  I 
give  and  bequeath  all  that  part  thereof,  which  is  compre¬ 
hended  within  the  following  limits;  viz.,  Beginning  at  the 
ford  of  Dogue  Run,  near  my  Mill,  and  extending  along 
the  road,  and  bounded  thereby,  as  it  now  goes,  and  ever  has 
gone,  since  my  recollection  of  it,  to  the  ford  of  Little  Hunt¬ 
ing  Creek,  at  the  Gum  Spring,  until  it  comes  to  a  knoll 
opposite  to  an  old  road  which  formerly  passed  through  the 
lower  field  of  Muddy-Hole  Farm;  at  which,  on  the  north 
side  of  the  said  road,  are  three  red  or  Spanish  oaks,  marked 
as  a  corner,  and  a  stone  placed;  thence  by  a  line  of  trees, 
to  be  marked  rectangular,  to  the  back  line  or  outer  boundary 
of  the  tract  between  Thomas  Mason  and  myself;  thence 
with  that  line  easterly  (now  double  ditching,  with  a  post-and- 
rail  fence  thereon)  to  the  run  of  Little  Hunting  Creek ;  thence 
with  that  run,  which  is  the  boundary  between  the  lands  of 


476 


U/orks  of  U/asbiq^toq  Iruir)$ 


the  late  Humphrey  Peake  and  me,  to  the  tide  water  of  the 
said  creek ;  thence  by  that  water  to  Potomac  River ;  thence 
with  the  river  to  the  mouth  of  Dogue  Creek ;  and  thence  with 
the  said  Dogue  Creek  to  the  place  of  beginning  at  the  afore¬ 
said  ford ;  containing  upward  of  four  thousand  acres,  be  the 
same  more  or  less,  together  with  the  mansion-house,  and  all 
other  buildings  and  improvements  thereon. 

Second. — In  consideration  of  the  consanguinity  between 
them  and  my  wife,  being  as  nearly  related  to  her  as  to  my¬ 
self,  as  on  account  of  the  affection  I  had  for,  and  the  obliga¬ 
tion  I  was  under  to,  their  father  when  living,  who  from  his 
youth  had  attached  himself  to  my  person,  and  followed  my 
fortunes  through  the  vicissitudes  of  the  late  Revolution, 
afterward  devoting  his  time  to  the  superintendence  of  my 
private  concerns  for  many  years,  while  my  public  employ¬ 
ments  rendered  it  impracticable  for  me  to  do  it  myself,  there¬ 
by  affording  me  essential  services,  and  always  performing 
them  in  a  manner  the  most  filial  and  respectful;  for  these 
reasons,  I  say,  I  give  and  bequeath  to  George  Fayette  Wash¬ 
ington,  and  Lawrence  Augustine  Washington ,  and  their 
heirs,  my  estate  east  of  Little  Hunting  Creek,  lying  on  the 
River  Potomac,  including  the  farm  of  three  hundred  and 
sixty  acres,  leased  to  Tobias  Lear ,  as  noticed  before,  and 
containing  in  the  whole,  by  deed,  two  thousand  and  twenty- 
seven  acres,  be  it  more  or  less;  which  said  estate  it  is  my 
will  and  desire  should  be  equitably  and  advantageously 
divided  between  them,  according  to  quantity,  quality,  and 
other  circumstances,  when  the  youngest  shall  have  arrived 
at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  by  three  judicious  and  dis¬ 
interested  men;  one  to  be  chosen  by  each  of  the  brothers, 
and  the  third  by  these  two.  In  the  meantime,  if  the  termina¬ 
tion  of  my  wife’s  interest  therein  should  have  ceased,  the 
profits  arising  therefrom  are  to  be  applied  for  their  joint  uses 
and  benefit. 

Third. — And  whereas  it  bas  always  been  my  intention, 
since  my  expectation  of  having  issue  has  ceased,  to  consider 
the  grandchildren  of  my  wife  in  the  same  light  as  I  do  my 


Cife  of  U/a8t?ir><$toi) 


477 


own  relations,  and  to  act  a  friendly  part  by  them ;  more  espe¬ 
cially  by  the  two  whom  we  have  raised  from  their  earliest 
infancy,  namely,  Eleanor  Parke  Custis  and  George  Wash - 
ington  Parke  Custis ;  and  whereas  the  former  of  these  hath 
lately  intermarried  with  Laivrence  Lewis ,  a  son  of  my  de¬ 
ceased  sister,  Betty  Levois ,  by  which  the  inducement  to  pro¬ 
vide  for  them  both  has  been  increased;  wherefore,  I  give 
and  bequeath  to  the  said  Lawrence  Lewis  and  Eleanor 
Parke  Lewis ,  his  wife,  and  their  heirs,  the  residue  of  my 
Mount  Vernon  estate,  not  already  devised  to  my  nephew, 
Bushrod  Washington ,  comprehended  within  the  following 
description;  viz.,  All  the  land  north  of  the  road  leading  from 
the  ford  of  Dogue  Run  to  the  Gum  Spring  as  described  in 
the  devise  of  the  other  part  of  the  tract  to  Bushrod  Wash¬ 
ington ,  until  it  comes  to  the  stone  and  three  red  or  Spanish 
oaks  on  the  knoll ;  thence  with  the  rectangular  line  to  the 
back  line  (between  Mr.  Mason  and  me) ;  thence  with  that 
line  westerly  along  the  new  double  ditch  to  Dogue  Run,  by 
the  tumbling  dam  of  my  Mill ;  thence  with  the  said  run  to 
the  ford  aforementioned.  To  which  I  add  all  the  land  I  pos¬ 
sess  west  of  the  said  Dogue  Run  and  Dogue  Creek,  bounded 
easterly  and  southerly  thereby;  together  with  the  mill,  dis¬ 
tillery,  and  all  other  houses  and  improvements  on  the  prem¬ 
ises,  making  together  about  two  thousand  acres,  be  it  more 
or  less. 

Fourth. — Actuated  by  the  principle  already  mentioned, 
I  give  and  bequeath  to  George  Washington  Parke  Custis , 
the  grandson  of  my  wife,  and  my  ward,  and  to  his  heirs,  the 
tract  I  hold  on  Four  Mile  Run,  in  the  vicinity  of  Alexandria, 
containing  one  thousand  two  hundred  acres,  more  or  less, 
and  my  entire  square,  No.  21,  in  the  city  of  Washington. 

Fifth. — All  the  rest  and  residue  of  my  estate  real  and 
personal,  not  disposed  of  in  manner  aforesaid,  in  whatsoever 
consisting,  wheresoever  lying,  and  whensoever  found  (a 
schedule  of  which,  as  far  as  is  recollected,  with  a  reason¬ 
able  estimate  of  its  value,  is  hereunto  annexed),  I  desire  may 
be  sold  by  my  executors  at  such  times,  in  such  manner,  and 


47$ 


U/orl^s  of  U/asl?ii}$toi)  Iruii)$ 


on  such  credits  (if  an  equal,  valid,  and  satisfactory  distribu¬ 
tion  of  the  specific  property  cannot  be  made  without),  as  in 
their  judgment  shall  be  most  conducive  to  the  interests  of  the 
parties  concerned;  and  the  moneys  arising  therefrom  to  be 
divided  into  twenty- three  equal  parts,  and  applied  as  follows; 
viz.,  To  William  Augustine  Washington,  Elizabeth  Spots - 
wood ,  Jane  Thornton ,  and  the  heirs  of  Ann  Ashton ,  sons 
and  daughters  of  my  deceased  brother,  Augustine  Wash¬ 
ington ,  I  give  and  bequeath  four  parts ;  that  is,  one  part  to 
each  of  them.  To  Fielding  Lewis ,  George  Lewis ,  Robert 
Lewis ,  Howell  Lewis ,  and  Betty  Carter ,  sons  and  daugh  - 
ters  of  my  deceased  sister,  Betty  Lewis ,  I  give  and  bequeath 
five  other  parts;  one  to  each  of  them.  To  George  Steptoe 
Washington ,  Lawrence  Augustine  Washington ,  Harriet 
Parks ,  and  the  heirs  of  Thornton  Washington ,  sons  and 
daughters  of  my  deceased  brother,  Samuel  Washington ,  I 
give  and  bequeath  other  four  parts ;  one  to  each  of  them.  To 
Corbin  Washington ,  and  the  heirs  of  Jane  Washington , 
son  and  daughter  of  my  deceased  brother,  John  Augustine 
Washington ,  I  give  and  bequeath  two  parts;  one  to  each  of 
them.  To  Samuel  Washington ,  Frances  Ball ,  and  Mil¬ 
dred  Hammond ,  son  and  daughters  of  my  brother,  Charles 
Washington ,  I  give  and  bequeath  three  parts;  one  part  to 
each  of  them.  And  to  George  Fayette  Washington ,  Charles 
Augustine  Washington ,  and  Maria  Washington ,  sons  and 
daughter  of  my  deceased  nephew,  George  Augustine  Wash¬ 
ington ,  I  give  one  other  part ;  that  is,  to  each  a  third  of  that 
part.  To  Elizabeth  Parke  Law ,  Martha  Parke  Peter ,  and 
Eleanor  Parke  Lewis ,  I  give  and  bequeath  three  other  parts; 
that  is,  a  part  to  each  of  them.  And  to  my  nephews,  Bush- 
rod  Washington  and  Lawrence  Lewis ,  and  to  my  ward, 
the  grandson  of  my  wife,  I  give  and  bequeath  one  other  part ; 
that  is,  a  third  thereof  to  each  of  them.  And,  if  it  should  so 
happen  that  any  of  the  persons  whose  names  are  here  enu¬ 
merated  (unknown  to  me)  should  now  be  dead,  or  should  die 
before  me,  that  in  either  of  these  cases,  the  heir  of  such  de¬ 
ceased  person  shall,  notwithstanding,  derive  all  the  benefits 


Cife  of  U/as^ii)^tor> 


479 


of  the  bequest  in  the  same  manner  as  if  he  or  she  was  act¬ 
ually  living  at  the  time.  And,  by  way  of  advice,  I  recom 
mend  it  to  my  executors  not  to  be  precipitate  in  disposing  of 
the  landed  property  (herein  directed  to  be  sold),  if  from  tem¬ 
porary  causes  the  sale  thereof  should  be  dull;  experience 
having  fully  evinced  that  the  price  of  land,  especially  above 
the  falls  of  the  river  and  on  the  western  waters,  has  been 
progressively  rising,  and  cannot  be  long  checked  in  its  in¬ 
creasing  value.  And  I  particularly  recommend  it  to  such 
of  the  legatees  (under  this  clause  of  my  will),  as  can  make  it 
convenient,  to  take  each  a  share  of  my  stock  in  the  Potomac 
Company  in  preference  to  the  amount  of  what  it  might  sell 
for ;  being  thoroughly  convinced  myself  that  no  uses  to  which 
the  money  can  be  applied  will  be  so  productive  as  the  tolls 
arising  from  this  navigation  when  in  full  operation  (and  thus, 
from  the  nature  of  things,  it  must  be,  ere  long),  and  more 
especially  if  that  of  the  Shenandoah  is  added  thereto. 

The  family  vault  at  Mount  Vernon  requiring  repairs,  and 
being  improperly  situated  besides,  I  desire  that  a  new  one 
of  brick,  and  upon  a  larger  scale,  may  be  built  at  the  foot 
of  what  is  commonly  called  the  Vineyard  Inclosure,  on  the 
ground  which  is  marked  out;  in  which  my  remains,  with 
those  of  my  deceased  relations  (now  in  the  old  vault),  and 
such  others  of  my  family  as  may  choose  to  be  entombed 
there,  may  be  deposited.  And  it  is  my  express  desire  that 
my  corpse  may  be  interred  in  a  private  manner,  without 
parade  or  funeral  oration. 

Lastly,  I  constitute  and  appoint  my  dearly  beloved  wife, 
Martha  Washington ,  my  nephews,  William  Augustine 
Washington ,  Bushrod  Washington ,  George  Steptoe  Wash - 
ington ,  Samuel  Washington ,  and  Lawrence  Lewis ,  and  my 
ward,  George  Washington  Parke  Custis  (when  he  shall 
have  arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years),  executrix  and 
executors  of  this  my  will  and  testament ;  in  the  construction 
of  which  it  will  be  readily  perceived  that  no  professional 
character  has  been  consulted,  or  has  had  any  agency  in  the 
draft ;  and  that,  although  it  has  occupied  many  of  my  leisure 


480 


U/orKs  of  U/asl?ii}$toi}  Iruii}$ 


hours  to  digest,  and  to  throw  it  into  its  present  form,  it  may, 
notwithstanding,  appear  crude  and  incorrect;  but,  having 
endeavored  to  be  plain  and  explicit  in  all  the  devises,  even 
at  the  expense  of  prolixity,  perhaps  of  tautology,  I  hope  and 
trust  that  no  disputes  will  arise  concerning  them.  But  if, 
contrary  to  expectation,  the  case  should  be  otherwise,  from 
the  want  of  legal  expressions,  or  the  usual  technical  terms, 
or  because  too  much  or  too  little  has  been  said  on  any  of 
the  devises  to  be  consonant  with  law,  my  will  and  direction 
expressly  is,  that  all  disputes  (if  unhappily  any  should  arise) 
shall  be  decided  by  three  impartial  and  intelligent  men, 
known  for  their  probity  and  good  understanding,  two  to  be 
chosen  by  the  disputants,  each  having  the  choice  of  one,  and 
the  third  by  those  two ;  which  three  men,  thus  chosen,  shall, 
unfettered  by  law  or  legal  constructions,  declare  their  sense 
of  the  testator’s  intention ;  and  such  decision  is,  to  all  intents 
and  purposes,  to  be  as  binding  on  the  parties  as  if  it  had 
been  given  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

In  witness  of  all  and  of  each  of  the  things  herein  contained,  1  have 
set  my  hand  and  seal,  this  ninth  day  of  July,  in  the  year  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety ,*  and  of  the  Independence  of 
the  United  States  the  twenty-fourth. 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


It  appears  that  the  testator  omitted  the  word  “nine.” 


END  OF  “LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON 99 


INDEX 


I 


.O  VOL.  —XV***  21 


INDEX 


A 

Abercrombie,  General— 

supersedes  General  Shirley . vol.  xii.  228 

commander-in-chief . vol.  xii.  260 

encamped  at  Lake  George .  . vol.  xii.  265 

proceeds  against  Ticonderoga . vol.  xii.  265 

falls  back . vol.  xii.  267 

attacks  the  French  works . vol.  xii.  267 

repulsed  by  Montcalm . vol.  xii.  268 

superseded  by  Major-general  Amherst . vol.  xii.  283 

Abercrombie,  Lieutenant-colonel — 

attacks  American  batteries . vol.  xiv.  599 

Ackland,  Lady  Harriet — 

with  Burgoyne’s  army . vol.  xiii.  548 

during  the  action . vol.  xiii.  556 

her  distress . „ . vol.  xiv.  30 

seeks  her  husband .  . Vol.  xiv.  33 

kind  treatment  of . vol.  xiv.  34 

subsequent  history . (note)  vol.  xiv.  46 

Ackland,  Major — 

commands  the  Grenadiers . vol.  xiv.  26 

wounded  and  taken  prisoner . vol.  xiv.  26 

subsequent  history . (note)  vol.  xiv.  46 

Adams,  John — 

birth  of  American  independence . vol.  xii.  319 

at  town  meetings . < . vol.  xii.  375 

on  the  General  Congress . vol.  xii.  378 

to  his  wife  about  Mr.  Duche . vol.  xii.  380 

opposes  petition  to  the  king . vol.  xii.  421 

on  the  choice  of  commander-in-chief . vol.  xii.  423 

proposes  Washington  as  such . vol.  xii.  425 

on  the  conduct  of  Washington . vol.  xii.  426 

opposes  Lee,  and  urges  Ward  as  second  in  command . vol.  xii.  427 

opposed  to  Lee  and  Gates . vol.  xii.  428 

on  the  act  of  the  Massachusetts  General  Court . vol.  xii.  534 

to  General  Thomas  on  Schuyler’s  unpopularity . vol.  xii.  558 

picture  of  festivities  at  headquarters . vol.  xii.  573 

on  the  defense  of  New  York . vol.  xii.  592 

(483) 


484 


Ir>dex 


member  of  the  Board  of  War  and  Ordnance . „  vol.  xiii.  89 

on  the  Declaration  of  Independence . vol.  xiii.  118 

its  great  importance . vol.  xiii.  119 

concerning  sectional  jealousies . vol.  xiii.  146 

on  committee  to  confer  with  Lord  Howe . vol.  xiii.  197 

at  Washington’s  inauguration . vol.  xv.  115 

on  presidential  etiquette . vol.  xv.  129 

distrusts  the  French  Revolution . vol.  xv.  204 

on  the  office  of  Vice-President . vol.  xv.  204 

his  Discourses  on  Davilla . vol.  xv.  204 

on  the  British  Constitution . vol.  xv.  222 

concerning  Washington’s  judgment  of  Genet . vol.  xv.  287 

to  his  wife  on  affairs . vol.  xv.  292 

elected  President . vol.  xv.  354 

inaugural  address . vol.  xv.  357 

convenes  Congress . , , . vol.  xv.  368 

address  on  French  indignities . vol.  xv.  368 

to  Washington,  asking  advice . vol.  xv.  374 

on  the  appointment  of  Washington  as  commander-in-chief. vol.  xv.  375 

nominates  minister  to  France . vol.  xv.  387 

Adams,  Mrs.— 

to  her  husband  on  the  appearance  of  Washington . vol.  xii.  464 

description  of  General  Lee . vol.  xii.  466 

account  of  party  at  General  Mifflin’s . vol.  xii.  573 

to  her  husband  on  the  cannonade . vol.  xiii.  54 

Adams,  Samuel— 

as  moderator . vol.  xii.  375 

proposes  Mr.  Duche  as  chaplain . vol.  xii.  379 

apprised  of  the  movement  of  troops . vol.  xii.  405 

irresolute  as  to  commander-in-chief . vol.  xii.  423 

excepted  from  proffered  pardon . vol.  xii.  431 

on  the  united  command  of  Schuyler  and  Gates . vol.  xiii.  139 

meets  Washington  at  Cambridge . vol.  xv.  158 

Adams,  Sir  Thomas . vol.  xii.  311 

Adet,  Mr.— 

minister  from  France . vol.  xv.  31» 

presents  the  colors  of  France . vol.  xv.  338 

complaints  against  the  government  of  the  United  States. vol.  xv.  353 

Agnew,  Brigadier-general— 

in  the  expedition  against  Danbury . vol.  xiii.  396 

killed  at  Germantown . vol.  xiv.  54 

Albany,  panic  at  St.  Clair’s  retreat . vol.  xiii.  457 

Allen,  the  fighting  parson . ,vol.  xiii.  510 

Allen,  Ethan— 

at  the  head  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys . vol.  xii.  416 

volunteers  in  the  public  cause . vol.  xii.  416 

described . vol.  xii.  417 

commands  expedition  to  Ticonderoga . vol.  xii.  417 

proceeds  to  Shoreham . vol.  xii.  417 


Ii >dex 


485 


arrives  at  Shoreham . . . .  * . vol.  xii.  418 

addresses  his  men . vol.  xii.  418 

surprises  Ticonderoga . vol.  xii.  419 

expedition  against  St.  John’s . vol.  xii.  420 

returns  to  Ticonderoga  . vol.  xii.  420 

rivalry  with  Arnold . vol.  xii.  496 

to  New  York  Congress . vol.  xii.  497 

designs  on  Canada . vol.  xii.  498 

to  Trumbull . vol.  xii.  498 

repairs  to  Congress . . . vol.  xii.  499 

repairs  to  New  York  Convention . vol.  xii.  499 

to  Trumbull  on  the  invasion  of  Canada . vol.  xii.  502 

superseded  by  Seth  Warner . . . vol.  xii.  505 

joins  as  a  volunteer. . vol.  xii.  505 

to  Trumbull . . . vol.  xii.  506 

sent  to  reconnoiter . vol.  xii.  517 

report  to  Schuyler . vol.  xii.  518 

recruiting . . . vol.  xii.  518 

to  Montgomery  on  Canadian  volunteers . vol.  xii.  522 

meets  Major  Brown . vol.  xii.  522 

decides  to  attack  Montreal . vol.  xii.  522 

taken  prisoner . vol.  xii.  523 

reception  by  General  Prescott . vol.  xii.  524 

sent  to  England. . . vol.  xii.  524 

to  General  Prescott . vol.  xii.  524 

memory  of . vol.  xii.  525 

treatment  by  the  British . vol.  xii.  562 

exchanged  for  Colonel  Campbell . vol.  xiv.  161 

visits  Valley  Forge . vol.  xiv.  161 

leaves  for  home . vol.  xiv.  161 

Allen,  Levi— 

to  Washington  on  the  treatment  of  Ethan  Allen . vol.  xii.  564 

project  to  effect  his  release . vol.  xii.  564 

Allen,  William . vol.  xiii.  141 

Alton,  John,  Washington’s  servant,  taken  ill . vol.  xii.  193 

“Ambuscade,”  engagement  with  the  “Boston” . vol.  xv.  279 

Amboy,  disaffection  of  people . vol.  xiii.  117 

American  Colonies — 

affection  for  the  mother  country . vol.  xii.  316 

resolve  not  to  purchase  British  fabrics . . . vol.  xii.  320 

American  Army — 

besieging  Boston,  its  nature . vol.  xii.  439 

disposition  of  its  forces . vol.  xii.  440 

distribution  of,  before  Boston . vol.  xii.  482 

condition  and  discipline . vol.  xii.  482 

spirit  of  insubordination . vol.  xii.  483 

camp  described . vol.  xii.  483 

strict  discipline . vol.  xii.  485 

scarcity  of  powder . vol.  xii.  487 


486 


Ir?dex 


critical  condition . . . * 

difficulty  of  filling  up . 

greatly  weakened . 

lack  of  equipments . 

strength  in  and  about  New  York . 

retreat  from  before  Quebec . 

British  description  of . 

at  New  Brunswick . 

contrasted  with  the  British . 

marches  through  Philadelphia . 

described  by  a  Hessian . 

approach  of  winter  . 

destitution  of . 

pass  through  Philadelphia . 

discontent  of . 

.  memorial  to  Congress . 

anonymous  address . 

other  anonymous  papers . 

meeting  of  officers. . . 

addressed  by  Washington . 

resolutions  of  meeting . 

its  breaking  up  described . 

contrasted  with  the  British . 

American  Militia- 

fly  before  the  British . 

cowardice  of . 

signalize  themselves . 

gallant  exploits . 

American  Prisoners,  treatment  of . 

American  Seamen,  impressment  of . 

Ames,  Fisher — 

on  the  first  Congress . 

debate  on  Jefferson’s  report . 

on  Washington’s  farewell  address . 

Amesbury,  a  British  spy . 

Amherst,  Major-general— 

to  reduce  Louisburg ...  . 

embarks . .' . 

arrives  at  the  bay  of  Gabarus . 

landing  of  troops . 

takes  Louisburg . 

supersedes  General  Abercrombie . 

to  advance  against  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point. . . , . 

embarks  for  Ticonderoga . 

repairs  the  works  at  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point. . . . 

consequences  of  his  delay . 

further  delay . 

again  in  the  field . . . . . . . . 

arrives  at  Montreal . 


..vol.  xii.  488 
.vol.  xii.  558 
..vol.  xii.  584 
,  .vol.  xii.  586 
.vol.  xiii.  75 
.vol.  xiii.  82 
.vol.  xiii.  243 
.vol.  xiii.  283 
.vol.  xiii.  361 
.vol.  xiii.  484 
.vol.  xiv.  41 
.vol.  xiv.  92 
.vol.  xiv.  263 
.vol.  xiv.  567 
.vol.  xiv.  623 
..vol.  xv.  20 
..vol.  xv.  20 
.  .vol.  xv.  24 
..vol.  xv.  24 
.  .vol.  xv.  25 
..vol.  xv.  28 
..vol.  xv.  46 
.  .vol.  xv.  51 

.vol.  xiii.  205 
.vol.  xiii.  205 
.vol.  xiii.  358 
.vol.  xiii.  359 
.vol.  xiii.  364 
..vol.  xv.  284 

..vol.  xv.  145 
..vol.  xv.  293 
.  .vol.  xv.  349 
.vol.  xiii.  425 

..vol.  xii.  262 
..vol.  xii.  262 
..vol.  xii.  263 
.  .vol.  xii.  263 
.  .vol.  xii.  265 
..vol.  xii.  283 
..vol.  xii.  284 
..vol.  xii.  286 
..vol.  xii.  286 
.  .vol.  xii.  286 
.  .vol.  xii.  297 
..vol.  xii.  297 
.  .vol.  xii.  299 


Ir>dex  487 

Amherst,  Captain,  dispatched  to  England  with  news  of  the 

capture  of  Louisburg . . . vol.  xii.  265 

Anderson,  Ephraim— 

plan  for  destroying  British  ships . vol.  xiii.  153 

entertained  by  Congress . .vol.  xiii.  154 

to  the  President  of  Congress  on  his  progress . vol.  xiii.  155 

Andre,  Major— 

and  the  Mischianza . .vol.  xiv.  158 

aid-de-camp  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton ....  .  vol.  xiv.  240 

correspondence  with  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  356 

sketch  of  his  life . vol.  xiv.  357 

attempted  interview  with  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  361 

goes  on  board  the  “Vulture” . vol.  xiv.  362 

interview  with  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  363 

remains  ashore  all  night  . vol.  xiv.  364 

anxiety  to  escape . vol.  xiv.  364 

crosses  to  Verplanck’s  Point . vol.  xiv.  366 

stopped  by  patroling  party . vol.  xiv.  366 

approaches  the  Neutral  Ground . . . vol.  xiv.  366 

parts  with  Smith . vol.  xiv.  367 

stopped  by  Paulding. . vol.  xiv.  368 

arrested  and  searched . vol.  xiv.  370 

taken  to  North  Castle . vol.  xiv.  371 

sent  to  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  372 

brought  back . vol.  xiv.  372 

taken  to  Lower  Salem . vol.  xiv.  372 

lines  to  Washington . vol.  xiv.  373 

amuses  himself  by  sketching . vol.  xiv.  374 

propensity  for  caricature . (note)  vol.  xiv.  374 

taken  to  the  Robinson  House . vol.  xiv.  384 

sent  to  West  Point . vol.  xiv.  384 

conversation  with  Major  Tallmadge . vol.  xiv.  385 

his  fate  predicted . vol.  xiv.  385 

arrives  at  Tappan . vol.  xiv.  388 

frank  confession . vol.  xiv.  391 

condemned  as  a  spy . vol.  xiv.  391 

concerning  Sir  Henry  Clinton . vol.  xiv.  392 

qualities  of . vol.  xiv.  392 

execution  postponed . vol.  xiv.  395 

affecting  appeal  to  Washington . vol.  xiv.  398 

nature  of  his  mission . . .  . .vol.  xiv.  398 

British  view  of  his  case . (note)  vol.  xiv.  400 

his  execution . vol.  xiv.  401 

burial . vol.  xiv.  402 

transferred  to  Westminster  Abbey . vol.  xiv.  402 

sympathy  in  behalf  of . vol.  xiv.  402 

Angel,  Colonel,  in  the  fight  at  Springfield . vol.  xiv.  322 

Annapolis  before  the  Revolution . (note)  vol.  xii.  812 

Anspachers  arrive  at  New  York . . . vol.  xiii.  419 


488 


Ir>dex 


Arbuthnot,  Admiral- 

arrival  with  troops . . . vol.  xiv.  258 

convoys  expedition  to  South  Carolina . vol.  xiv.  262 

enters  Charleston  harbor . vol.  xiv.  305 

passes  Fort  Moultrie . . . vol.  xiv.  305 

squadron  scattered  by  a  storm . vol.  xiv.  511 

encounters  the  French  fleet . vol.  xiv.  517 

Armstrong,  Colonel  John,  commands  expedition  against  Kit¬ 
tanning . vol.  xii.  240 

Armstrong,  Major-general— 

to  check  the  British . vol.  xiii.  524 

at  Brandywine . vol.  xiii.  531 

posted  at  the  Schuylkill . ....vol.  xiii.  540 

on  Washington . (note)  vol.  xiv.  70 

author  of  anonymous  papers . vol.  xv.  31 

Armstrong,  Captain- 

commands  at  Verplanck’s  Point . vol.  xiv.  239 

pursues  Colonel  Coates . vol.  xiv.  553 

fight  at  Quimby  Creek . vol.  xiv.  553 

decoyed  into  an  ambush . vol.  xv.  190 

Armstrong,  Major,  attention  to  Mercer . . . vol.  xiii.  350 

Arnold,  Benedict— 

arrives  at  Castleton . vol.  xii.  417 

proposes  the  surprisal  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point.. vol.  xii.  417 

aspires  to  the  command . vol.  xii.  418 

serves  as  volunteer. . .  . vol.  xii.  418 

desires  to  command  Ticonderoga . vol.  xii.  419 

is  disappointed  and  protests . vol.  xii.  419 

commands  armed  schooner . vol.  xii.  420 

surprises  St.  John’s . vol.  xii.  420 

rivalry  with  Ethan  Allen . vol.  xii.  496 

opinion  of  Allen . . . vol.  xii.  496 

difficulties  with  Colonel  Hinman . vol.  xii.  500 

and  the  committee  of  inquiry . vol.  xii.  500 

indignation . vol.  xii.  500 

sets  off  for  Cambridge . vol.  xii.  501 

commands  the  expedition  as  lieutenant-colonel . vol.  xii.  515 

sets  out  for  Canada . vol.  xii.  516 

to  Washington,  on  the  expedition . vol.  xii.  519 

to  Washington,  on  his  progress . vol.  xii.  527 

toils  of  the  expedition . vol.  xii.  527 

obstacles  to  the  expedition . vol.  xii.  527 

perseverance . vol.  xii.  548 

embarks  on  the  Chaudiere . vol.  xii.  550 

arrives  at  Point  Levi . vol.  xii.  550 

sudden  apparition . vol.  xii.  550 

at  Point  Levi . vol.  xii.  575 

crosses  to  Wolfe’s  Cove . vol.  xii.  576 

discovered  by  a  boat  from  the  “Lizard” . vol.  xii.  577 


I  pdex  489 

Arnold,  Benedict— on  the  Heights  of  Abraham . vol.  xii.  578 

obstacles  before  him . vol.  xii.  578 

holds  a  council  of  war . vol.  xii.  578 

demands  a  surrender . vol.  xii.  578 

retires  to  Point  aux  Trembles . vol.  xii.  579 

joined  by  Montgomery . vol.  xii.  580 

leads  his  division  against  St.  Roque . vol.  xiii.  32 

wounded . vol.  xiii.  33 

assisted  back  to  camp . vol.  xiii.  35 

determination  and  resources . vol.  xiii.  35 

gallant  resolve . . . vol.  xiii.  35 

promoted  to  brigadier-general . vol.  xiii.  79 

keeps  up  the  blockade .  . vol.  xiii.  79 

difficulties . . . vol.  xiii.  79 

accident . vol.  xiii.  80 

obtains  leave  of  absence . . . vol.  xiii.  80 

at  Montreal . vol.  xiii.  92 

affair  at  the  Cedars . . vol.  xiii.  92 

council  of  war . vol.  xiii.  94 

exchange  of  prisoners . vol.  xiii.  94 

to  Commissioners  of  Congress . vol.  xiii.  94 

joins  Sullivan . vol.  xiii.  105 

commands  flotilla  at  Ticonderoga . vol.  xiii.  254 

at  Valcour  Island . vol.  xiii.  256 

his  force . . . vol.  xiii.  256 

engages  the  British . vol.  xiii.  256 

escapes  the  enemy . vol.  xiii.  257 

overtaken,  brave  resistance . vol.  xiii.  258 

burns  his  vessels . vol.  xiii.  258 

arrives  at  Crown  Point . vol.  xiii.  259 

passed  over  by  Congress . . . vol.  xiii.  394 

to  Washington  on  his  non-promotion . vol.  xiii.  394 

reasons  for . vol.  xiii.  395 

hastens  to  Danbury . vol.  xiii.  396 

takes  post  at  Ridgefield . vol.  xiii.  398 

throws  up  a  breastwork . vol.  xiii.  398 

narrow  escape . vol.  xiii.  399 

presses  the  enemy  hard . vol.  xiii.  399 

made  major-general . vol.  xiii.  400 

presented  with  a  horse  by  Congress . vol.  xiii.  401 

declines  the  command  of  the  Hudson . vol.  xiii.  415 

business  with  Congress . vol.  xiii.  415 

commands  Philadelphia . vol.  xiii.  420 

volunteers  to  relieve  Fort  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  505 

encourages  Gansevoort. . vol.  xiii.  515 

re-enforced . vol.  xiii.  516 

to  Gates,  determination . . vol.  xiii.  516 

success  of  his  stratagem . vol.  xiii.  517 

selects  a  camping  ground . vol.  xiii.  551 


490 


Ipdex 


Aknold,  Benedict— skirmishes  with  the  enemy., . vol.  xiii.  558 

impetuous  attack . vol.  xiii.  554 

quarrel  with  Gates . vol.  xiii.  557 

indignant  letter  to  Gates . vol.  xiii.  560 

tries  to  goad  Gates  on . vol.  xiv.  23 

rushes  to  the  fight . vol.  xiv.  27 

desperate  valor . vol.  xiv.  27 

storms  Burgoyne’s  camp . vol.  xiv.  28 

wounded . . .  .vol.  xiv.  28 

to  take  command  of  Philadelphia . ,...vol.  xiv.  171 

unsettled  accounts . vol.  xiv.  271 

command  of  Philadelphia . vol.  xiv.  272 

issues  proclamation . voL  xiv.  272 

style  of  living . . .vol.  xiv.  273 

disputes . vol.  xiv.  273 

attachment  to  Miss  Shippen . vol.  xiv.  274 

projects  a  settlement  in  New  York . vol.  xiv.  275 

charges  against . vol.  xiv.  275 

sets  out  for  Albany . vol.  xiv.  275 

address  to  the  public . vol.  xiv.  276 

appeal  to  Congress . vol.  xiv.  276 

exculpated  by  Congress . vol.  xiv.  277 

resigns  his  command . vol.  xiv.  277 

dissatisfaction  with  Congress . vol.  xiv.  277 

to  Washington  on  the  court-martial . vol.  xiv.  278 

marries  Miss  Shippen . vol.  xiv.  278 

application  for  a  guard . vol.  xiv.  279 

tried  by  court-martial . vol.  xiv.  279 

sentenced  to  be  reprimanded . . vol.  xiv.  281 

reprimanded  by  Washington . vol.  xiv.  281 

projects  an  expedition . vol.  xiv.  283 

and  the  French  minister . vol.  xiv.  297 

applies  to  rejoin  the  army . vol.  xiv.  298 

seeks  the  command  of  West  Point . . vol.  xiv.  298 

appointed  to  the  command  of  West  Point . vol.  xiv.  334 

treason  of . vol.  xiv.  354 

correspondence  with  Sir  Henry  Clinton . vol.  xiv.  354 

desperate  state  of  affairs  . vol.  xiv.  355 

takes  command  of  West  Point . voL  xiv.  356 

headquarters  at  the  Robinson  House . vol.  xiv.  356 

carries  on  secret  correspondence  with  Andre . . vol.  xiv.  356 

scheme  of  treachery . vol.  xiv.  356 

attempted  interview  with  Andre . vol.  xiv.  360 

accompanies  Washington . vol.  xiv.  361 

message  to  Colonel  Robinson . vol.  xiv.  362 

interview  with  Andre . vol.  xiv.  863 

the  bargain  completed . vol.  xiv.  364 

returns  to  headquarters . vol.  xiv.  364 

arrival  of  Washington . vol.  xiv.  876 


rt>dex 


491 


hears  of  Andre’s  capture . vol.  xiv.  877 

flight . . . vol.  xiv.  378 

escapes  to  the  “Vulture” . vol.  xiv.  380 

gives  up  his  crew  as  prisoners  of  war . vol.  xiv.  380 

to  Washington  concerning  his  wife...' . vol.  xiv.  381 

certificate  in  behalf  of  Andre . vol.  xiv.  396 

to  Washington,  threatening  retaliation  for  Andre  . vol.  xiv.  396 

rewarded  by  the  British . vol.  xiv.  403 

address  to  the  inhabitants  of  America . vol.  xiv.  403 

proclamation  to  the  American  Army . vol.  xiv.  404 

letter  from  his  mother . (note)  vol.  xiv.  408 

subsequent  fortunes . vol.  xiv.  409 

commands  British  detachment.. . vol.  xiv.  448 

arrives  in  the  Chesapeake . vol.  xiv.  461 

buccaneering  ravages . vol.  xiv.  461 

takes  post  at  Portsmouth . . vol.  xiv.  463 

returns  to  New  York .  vol.  xiv.  539 

commands  expedition  against  New  London . vol.  xiv.  564 

attacks  New  London . vol.  xiv.  564 

ravages  the  town . vol.  xiv.  565 

Arnold,  Mrs.,  hears  of  Arnold’s  ruin . vol.  xiv.  377 

interview  with  Washington . vol.  xiv.  383 

ordered  to  leave  the  State . vol.  xiv.  406 

her  fortunes . vol.  xiv.  407 

Asgill,  Captain  Charles . vol.  xiv.  615 

Asgill,  Lady,  to  the  Count  de  Vergennes . vol.  xiv.  616 

Assistance,  Writs  of . . . vol.  xii.  318 

Atlee,  Colonel,  retires  before  General  Grant . vol.  xiii.  174 

forms  an  ambush  and  falls  back  on  Lord  Stirling . vol.  xiii.  174 

taken  prisoner . vol.  xiii.  178 

“Augusta”  ship  of  war  burned . vol.  xiv.  62 

B 

Babcock,  Colonel,  to  Governor  Cooke,  on  the  agitations  in 

New  York . vol.  xiii.  204 

operations  of  the  enemy . . . vol.  xiii.  205 

Bache’s  Aurora . . . vol.  xv.  342 

Baird,  Sir  James . vol.  xiv.  224 

Baker,  Remember,  Ethan  Allen’s  lieutenant . vol.  xiii.  416 

Balcarras,  Lord,  commands  light  infantry . vol.  xiv.  26 

defends  the  intrenchments . . vol.  xiv.  28 

Barbour,  Major,  carries  message  to  Baron  de  Yiomenil . vol.  xiv.  597 

Bard,  Dr.  Samuel,  attends  Washington .  vol.  xv.  138 

Barras,  Count  de,  arrives  at  Boston .  . vol.  xiv.  528 

address  to  Mr.  Monroe . vol.  xv.  367 

Barren  Hill,  Lafayette  stationed  on . vol.  xiv.  159 

Barton,  Colonel,  captures  General  Prescott . vol.  xiii.  458 

voted  a  sword  and  promoted . ..vol.  xiii.  459 

Bastile,  key  of .  . vol.  xv.  186 


492 


Ir>dex 


Batt’s  Hill,  occupied  by  General  Sullivan . vol.  xiv.  207 

action  at . vol.  xiv.  208 

Baum,  Lieutenant,  commands  expedition  against  Bennington. vol.  xiii.  506 

sets  out  from  camp . vol.  xiii.  508 

slow  march . vol.  xiii.  508 

intrenches  himself . vol.  xiii.  509 

defeated .  . vol.  xiii.  512 

Baxter,  Colonel,  at  Fort  Washington..... . vol.  xiii.  264 

killed . vol.  xiii.  266 

Baylor,  Lieutenant-colonel,  at  Old  Tappan . vol.  xiv.  218 

surprised  by  Major-general  Grey . vol.  xiv.  218 

Beall,  General,  to  secure  Pine’s  Bridge . vol.  xiii.  242 

Beaujeu,  Captain  de . vol.  xii.  208 

Bedell,  Colonel,  in  command  at  the  Cedars . vol.  xiii.  92 

menaced  by  Captain  Forster . vol.  xiii.  92 

repairs  to  Montreal  for  re-enforcements . .vol.  xiii.  92 

Bedford  Pass  neglected . vol.  xiii.  166 

Beeksteak  (The)  and  Tripe  Club . vol.  xii.  83 

Bellarni,  M.,  and  the  American  envoys . vol.  xv.  371 

Belt  of  Wampum . vol.  xii.  88 

Bemis’s  Heights  fortified . vol.  xiii.  551 

situation  of . vol.  xiii.  552 

Bennington,  expedition  against . vol.  xiii.  506 

situation  of . .vol.  xiii.  506 

people  on  the  alert . vol.  xiii.  508 

battle  of . vol.  xiii.  509 

second  battle . vol.  xiii.  511 

spoils  of  victory . .vol.  xiii.  512 

Benson,  Egbert,  commissioner  to  New  York . vol.  xv.  35 

Berkshire  Committees  acquit  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  86 

Bernard,  Gov.  Sir  Francis,  calls  upon  the  General  Court  to 

rescind  their  resolution . vol.  xii.  331 

Berthier,  Marshal . vol.  xiv.  534 

Beville,  General  de,  reconnoiters . vol.  xiv.  535 

Bienville,  Celeron  de,  dispatched  with  800  men  to  the  Ohio. .  .vol.  xii.  70 

orders  the  English  traders  to  depart. . vol.  xii.  71 

Biggin’s  Bridge  secured  by  the  British . vol.  xiv.  308 

Bird,  Colonel,  commands  attack  on  Peekskill . vol.  xiii.  379 

retreat . vol.  xiii.  380 

Bishop,  Washington’s  servant . vol.  xii.  271 

Black  (The)  Hunter . vol.  xii.  171 

Black  rifle . . . vol.  xii.  171 

Black  Stock  Hill,  fight  at . .....vol.  xiv.  438 

Blair,  John,  acting  governor . vol.  xii.  260 

judge  of  Supreme  Court . vol.  xv.  144 

Bland,  Colonel,  at  Brandywine . vol.  xiii.  532 

Bland,  Richard,  delegate  to  the  General  Congress. . vol.  xii.  373 

Blockade  of  Boston,  a  play . vol.  xiii.  47 

Board  of  War  modified . vol.  xiv.  88 


Ipdex 


493 


Bolden  (The)  Book .  «...*» . vol.  xii.  28 

Bompard,  Captain,  at  New  York . vol.  xv.  279 

Bonaparte,  on  the  death  of  Washington . vol.  xv.  400 

Bonner,  Lieutenant-colonel,  slain  at  Monmonth  Court-house.,  vol.  xiv.  184 

Bordentown,  public  store-houses  burned . vol.  xiv.  148 

Boscawen,  Admiral,  sails  for  Louisburg . vol.  xii.  262 

receives  vote  of  praise  by  Parliament.. . vol.  xii.  265 

Boskirk,  Lieutenant-colonel,  surprises  Elizabethtown . vol.  xiv.  268 

Boston  resists  payment  of  duties . .vol.  xii.  318 

demand  for  British  goods  diminished . vol.  xii.  318 

riot  against  stamp  act . vol.  xii.  320 

proceedings  in  regard  to  stamp  act . vol.  xii.  326 

militia  demonstrations . vol.  xii.  332 

convention  held  at . vol.  xii.  332 

arrival  of  British  forces . vol.  xii.  332 

town  meeting  against  the  right  of  the  king  to  send  troops.,  vol.  xii.  332 

refuses  to  quarter  the  troops . vol.  xii.  333 

massacre .  vol.  xii.  344 

arrival  of  tea . ; . vol.  xii.  361 

destruction  of  tea . . . vol.  xii.  362 

passage  of  the  Boston  Port  Bill . vol.  xii.  362 

general  league  recommended  at  town  meeting . vol.  xii.  366 

Port  Bill  carried  into  effect . . . vol.  xii.  366 

excitement  in . vol.  xii.  367 

condition  of . ...vol.  xii.  368 

town  meetings . vol.  xii.  368 

rumored  cannonading  of . vol.  xii.  389 

like  a  place  besieged . vol.  xii.  397 

besieged . vol.  xii.  430 

arrival  of  British  troops . vol.  xii.  430 

feeling  against  the  British  in . vol.  xii.  467 

in  a  state  of  siege . . vol.  xii.  488 

question  of  bombardment . vol.  xii.  536 

preparations  in  the  harbor . vol.  xii.  589 

destitution  and  sickness . vol.  xiii.  48 

opening  of  bombardment . vol.  xiii.  55 

British  prepare  to  evacuate . vol.  xiii.  61 

hurried  preparations .  vol.  xiii.  61 

evacuation .  vol.  xiii.  63 

occupied  by  the  Americans . vol.  xiii.  65 

after  the  siege . vol.  xiii.  65 

people  of,  project  expedition  against  Penobscot . vol.  xiv.  251 

“Boston”  frigate  engagement  with  the  “Ambuscade” . vol.  xv.  279 

Boston  massacre . vol.  xii.  344 

Boston  Port  Bill . vol.  xii.  362 

Boston  tea  party . vol.  xii.  362 

Botetourt,  Lord,  Governor  of  Virginia . vol.  xii.  337 

his  manners . vol.  xii.  337 

his  promptness . vol.  xii.  338 


494 


Ipdex 


his  style  and  equipage . vol.  xii.  858 

opening  of  the  session . vol.  xii.  338 

dissolves  the  House  of  Burgesses . vol.  xii.  340 

conciliatory  conduct . vol.  xii.  340 

his  death . vol.  xii.  345 

Bottle  Hill,  Americans  encamped  at . vol.  xiii.  357 

alarm  post . vol.  xiv.  236 

Boudinot,  Elias,  to  Pres.  Wharton . vol.  xiv.  91 

Bougainville,  De,  detached  to  watch  Wolfe’s  movements . vol.  xii.  291 

arrives  too  late . vol.  xii.  295 

retires . vol.  xii.  295 

Bouquet,  Colonel,  stationed  at  Raystown . vol.  xii.  273 

attaches  an  officer  and  men  to  Indian  scouting  parties _ vol.  xii.  273 

halt  at  Loyal  Hannan . vol.  xii.  277 

sends  out  a  reconnoitering  party . vol.  xii.  278 

Bourlamarque  dismantles  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point . vol.  xii.  286 

makes  a  stand  at  the  Isle  aux  Noix  . vol.  xii.  286 

Braam,  Van.  (See  Van  Braam.) 

Braddock,  Major-general  Edward,  appointed  generalissimo  of 

the  colonial  forces . vol.  xii.  160 

his  character . . . vol.  xii.  160 

anecdotes  of . vol.  xii.  160 

lands  at  Hampton . vol.  xii.  162 

proceeds  to  Alexandria . vol.  xii.  164 

invites  Washington  to  join  his  staff . vol.  xii.  165 

holds  a  council . vol.  xii.  167 

sets  out  from  Alexandria . vol.  xii.  172 

commencement  of  troubles . vol.  xii.  172 

interview  with  Franklin . vol.  xii.  173 

sets  off  for  Will’s  Creek . . . vol.  xii.  175 

arrives  at  Fort  Cumberland. . vol.  xii.  176 

his  discipline . vol.  xii.  177 

treatment  of  Indians . vol.  xii.  179 

to  Governor  Morris . vol.  xii.  180 

his  impatience  and  obstinacy . vol.  xii.  182 

arrival  of  conveyances . vol.  xii.  183 

leaves  Fort  Cumberland . vol.  xii.  184 

asks  the  advice  of  Washington . vol.  xii.  185 

advances  to  attack  Fort  Duquesne . . . vol.  xii.  186 

reception  of  Captain  Jack . ...vol.  xii.  187 

his  delay . vol.  xii.  188 

solicitude  for  Washington . vol.  xii.  189 

continued  march . vol.  xii.  190 

deserted  Indian  camp . vol.  xii.  190 

three  stragglers  shot  and  scalped  . vol.  xii.  190 

difficulties  of  the  march . vol.  xii.  190 

precautions . vol.  xii.  191 

encamps  at  Thicketty  Run  . vol.  xii.  191 

sends  scouts  to  Fort  Duquesne . vol.  xii.  191 


Ir>dex 


495 


Scarooyadi’s  son  killed  by  mistake . vol.  xii.  192 

admirable  conduct . -vol.  xii.  192 

tardiness  of  his  march. . vol.  xii.  194 

crosses  the  Monongahela . vol.  xii.  196 

commencement  of  the  battle  . vol.  xii.  198 

panic  of  the  advance  guard .  . vol.  xii.  198 

attempts  to  rally  them . vol.  xii.  199 

is  wounded;  his  despair . vol.  xii.  202 

the  rout . vol.  xii.  202 

reach  the  Great  Meadows . vol.  xii.  204 

his  death,  dying  requests . vol.  xii.  204 

character .  vol.  xii.  205 

Bradford,  William,  Attorney-general. . vol.  xv.  290 

death  of . vol.  xv.  333 

Bradstreet,  Lieutenant-colonel,  secures  a  sawmill . vol.  xii.  267 

expedition  against  Fort  Frontenac . vol.  xii.  268 

captures  the  fort . vol.  xii.  269 

Brandywine  Creek . , . . . vol.  xiii.  530 

Brandywine  (battle  of  the),  cannonading  commenced . vol.  xiii.  532 

conflicting  reports . vol.  xiii.  532 

desperate  conflict . vol.  xiii.  535 

description  of  the  retreat . vol.  xiii.  539 

Brannan,  Colonel,  joins  Marion . vol.  xiv.  438 

Brant,  Mohawk  Sachem . vol.  xii.  459 

at  Niagara . vol.  xiv.  213 

depredations  of . vol.  xiv.  414 

Breed’s  Hill . , . ..vol.  xii.  437 

to  be  fortified . vol.  xii.  437 

fortified . vol.  xii.  438 

under  the  enemy’s  fire . vol.  xii.  441 

Breton  Club .  ..vol.  xv.  151 

Breyman,  Colonel,  to  the  relief  of  Baum . vol.  xiii.  510 

arrives  and  renews  the  battle . vol.  xiii.  512 

mortally  wounded . vol.  xiv.  28 

Bridport,  Lord,  action  on  death  of  Washington . vol.  xv.  399 

British  ministry,  efforts  to  suppress  smuggling . vol.  xii.  318 

manufactures,  resolutions  not  to  import . vol.  xii.  319 

officers,  their  scornful  spirit . vol.  xii.  442 

troops  at  Boston . vol.  xii.  466 

attack  the  coast . vol.  xii.  533 

plan  of  operations . vol.  xii.  590 

officers  and  their  amusements . vol.  xiii.  49 

move  against  Dorchester  Heights . vol.  xiii.  61 

postponed  by  a  storm . vol.  xiii.  63 

retire . vol.  xiii.  63 

preparations  for  retreat  from  Boston . vol.  xiii.  65 

embarkation  from  Boston . vol.  xiii.  66 

designs  against  New  York . vol.  xiii.  Ill 

plans  for  the  attack  on  Long  Island . vol.  xiii.  174 


496 


Ir>dex 


crossing  from  Long  Island . vol.  xiii.  304 

land  at  New  York . vol.  xiii.  304 

repulse  Americans . vol.  xiii.  304 

land  at  Throg’s  Neck . vol.  xiii.  333 

ships  move  up  to  Burdett’s  Ferry . vol.  xiii.  341 

cross  the  Hudson  above  Fort  Lee . vol.  xiii.  373 

army  contrasted  with  American . vol.  xiii.  361 

evacuate  the  Jerseys . vol.  xiii.  438 

invasion  from  Canada . vol.  xiii.  434 

fleet  leaves  New  York . vol.  xiii.  465 

enters  the  Delaware . vol.  xiii.  467 

sails  out  of  the  capes . vol.  xiii.  467 

enters  the  Chesapeake . vol.  xiii.  483 

Brodhead,  Colonel,  expeditions  against  the  Indians . vol.  xiv.  337 

Bromfield,  Major,  attack  on  Fort  Griswold . vol.  xiv.  565 

Brooke,  Judge,  on  Washington’s  hilarity . vol.  xv.  81 

Brooke,  General,  meets  Washington  at  Cambridge . vol.  xv.  158 

Brooklyn,  defenses  of . . . vol.  xiii.  165 

Brooks,  Lieutenant-general,  attacks  Burgoyne’s  camp . vol.  xiv.  35 

joins  Prescott . vol.  xii.  436 

Brown,  Dr.,  attends  Washington . vol.  xv.  394 

Brown,  Lieutenant,  brings  flag  of  truce . vol.  xiii.  138 

recognition  of  Washington’s  rank . vol.  xiii.  138 

Brown,  Major  John,  dispatched  into  Canada . vol.  xii.  503 

sent  to  reconnoiter . vol.  xii.  517 

projects  with  Allen  an  attack  on  Montreal . vol.  xii.  533 

and  Major  Livingston  take  Fort  Chamblee . vol.  xii.  543 

drives  Colonel  Mac  Lean  back . vol.  xii.  545 

successful  feint . vol.  xiii.  30 

Brown,  Colonel,  surprises  Ticonderoga . . . vol.  xiii.  558 

threatens  Diamond  Island . vol.  xiii.  561 

Brown,  Lieutenant-colonel,  commands  expedition  to  Augusta. vol.  xiv.  311 

Brudenell,  Mr.,  accompanies  Lady  Ackland . vol.  xiv.  35 

Brunswick  troops  hired  by  England . vol.  xiii.  78 

Buford,  Colonel,  pursued  by  Tarleton . vol.  xiv.  311 

rejects  Tarleton’s  proposals . vol.  xiv.  313 

defeated  by  Tarleton . vol.  xiv.  313 

Bunker’s  Hill  to  be  fortified . vol.  xii.  435 

position  of . vol.  xii.  436 

works  thrown  up . vol.  xii.  437 

advance  of  General  Pigott . vol.  xii.  444 

effect  of  the  American  fire . vol.  xii.  445 

advance  of  General  Howe . vol.  xii.  445 

British  checked . vol.  xii.  445 

second  attack.. . vol.  xii.  446 

British  again  retreat . vol.  xii.  447 

spectators . vol.  xii.  447 

third  attack . vol.  xii.  448 

the  Americans  driven  from  the  breastwork  on  the  left.,  .vol.  xii.  449 


Ipdex 


497 


British  advance  with  the  bayonet . vol.  xii.  449 

American  ammunition  exhausted . vol.  xii.  449 

desperate  struggle . vol.  xii.  450 

American  retreat . vol.  xii.  450 

Stark,  Reed,  and  Knowlton  maintain  their  ground . vol.  xii.  449 

Putnam  endeavors  to  rally  the  troops . vol.  xii.  450 

British  take  possession . vol.  xii.  450 

resume . vol.  xii.  452 

relative  merits  of  the  American  officers . .vol.  xii.  452 

occupied  by  the  British . vol.  xii.  468 

Burgesses  (Va.),  House  of,  convened . vol.  xii.  115 

vote  thanks  to  Washington  and  his  officers . vol.  xii.  147 

grant  £20,000  for  the  public  service . vol.  xii.  153 

meeting  called . vol.  xii.  362 

Bullitt,  Captain,  brave  conduct . vol.  xii.  279 

promoted  to  Major . vol.  xii.  281 

Burgoyne,  General,  arrives  at  Boston . . . vol.  xii.  430 

surprise .  vol.  xii.  431 

cannonading  at  Bunker’s  Hill . vol.  xii.  447 

described . vol.  xii.  467 

history  of . vol.  xii.  467 

accused  by  Junius . . . vol.  xii.  468 

“The  Maid  of  the  Oaks” .  .vol.  xii.  468 

Walpole’s  witticisms . vol.  xii.  468 

“The  Heiress”  praised  by  Walpole . vol.  xii.  468 

correspondence  with  Lee . vol.  xii.  489 

proposes  an  interview  with  Lee . vol.  xii.  489 

in  Canada . vol.  xiii.  562 

pursues  Sullivan . vol.  xiii.  564 

reported  arrival  at  Quebec . vol.  xiii.  425 

plan  of  campaign . vol.  xiii.  433 

leaves  St.  John’s . .‘ . vol.  xiii.  434 

on  Lake  Champlain . vol.  xiii.  437 

arrives  at  Crown  Point . vol.  xiii.  438 

advancing .  vol.  xiii.  441 

issues  proclamation . vol.  xiii.  442 

fortifies  Mount  Hope.-. . vol.  xiii.  448 

pursues  the  flotilla .  vol.  xiii.  452 

moves  toward  the  Hudson . vol.  xiii.  486 

reaches  Fort  Anne . vol.  xiii.  486 

feeling  toward  Indians . vol.  xiii.  487 

murder  of  Miss  McCrea . vol.  xiii.  488 

at  Fort  Edward . vol.  xiii.  490 

difficulties  at . vol.  xiii.  493 

opposite  Saratoga . vol.  xiii.  508 

hears  of  Baum’s  surrender .  .vol.  xiii.  514 

correspondence  with  Gates . vol.  xiii.  520 

dubious  position . vol.  xiii.  546 

to  Lord  Germaine  on  his  prospects . vol.  xiii.  547 


498 


Ii?dex 


silent  preparations . . . vol.  xiii.  550 

moves  across  the  Hudson . = . vol.  xiii.  551 

march  of  his  army . .vol.  xiii.  551 

encamps  near  Gates . vol.  xiii.  553 

plan  of  battle . vol.  xiii.  554 

attacked  by  Arnold . vol.  xiii.  555 

on  the  situation  of  the  ladies . vol.  xiii.  557 

critical  situation .  vol.  xiii.  559 

news  from  Clinton . vol.  xiii.  559 

sends  word  to  Clinton . vol.  xiii.  559 

harassed  by  the  Americans  . vol.  xiii.  560 

within  intrenchments . vol.  xiii.  568 

movement  against  Gates . vol.  xiv.  25 

prepares  for  battle . vol.  xiv.  26 

retreats  to  his  camp . vol.  xiv.  28 

shifts  his  position . vol.  xiv.  30 

determines  on  retreat .  vol.  xiv.  31 

at  the  burial  of  General  Fraser . vol.  xiv.  31 

dismal  retreat . vol.  xiv.  33 

concerning  Lady  Ackland . vol.  xiv.  33 

reaches  Saratoga... . vol.  xiv.  34 

destruction  of  Schuyler’s  property . vol.  xiv.  35 

calls  a  council  of  war . vol.  xiv.  39 

fortifies  his  camp . vol.  xiv.  39 

capitulates . vol.  xiv.  40 

terms  of  capitulation . vol.  xiv.  40 

number  of  troops . vol.  xiv.  40 

meeting  with  Gates . . . vol.  xiv.  41 

kind  reception  by  Schuyler . vol.  xiv.  46 

question  of  embarkation . vol.  xiv.  137 

Burke,  Judge,  denounces  the  Cincinnati . vol.  xv.  61 

Burke,  Edmund,  on  the  employment  of  men-of-war  as  custom¬ 
house  officers .  . vol.  xii.  321 

on  the  state  of  affairs  in  America . vol.  xiii.  354 

Burr,  Aaron,  a  volunteer . vol.  xii.  514 

Montgomery’s  aid-de-camp . vol.  xiii.  28 

on  the  designs  of  the  British . vol.  xiii.  27 

on  a  reconnoitering  expedition  . vol.  xiv.  186 

Burton,  Lieutenant-colonel,  ordered  to  advance . vol.  xii.  202 

the  detachments  fall  back  upon  him  in  confusion . vol.  xii.  204 

Bush,  Crean . vol.  xiii.  62 

Bushnell’s  submarine  battery . vol.  xiii.  219 

Buskirk,  Major . vol.  xiv.  254 

Butler,  Colonel,  accompanies  Wayne . vol.  xiv.  455 

Butler,  General,  re-enforces  Greene . vol.  xiv.  50o 

at  Guilford  Court-house... . vol.  xiv.  499 

Butler,  Major-general,  with  General  St.  Clair . . . vol.  xv.  209 

killed . vol.  xv.  211 


Butler,  Lieutenant-colonel,  to  intercept  Colonel  Simcoe . vol.  xiv.  542 


Ipdex 


499 


Butler,  Colonel,  at  Oriskany . vol.  xiii.  503 

Butler,  Colonel  John,  commands  expedition  against  Wyo¬ 
ming . vol.  xiv.  214 

at  Wintermoot’s  Fort . vol.  xiv.  214 

battle  of  Wyoming . vol.  xiv.  214 

Butler,  Colonel  Richard,  surprises  a  party  of  Hessians . vol.  xiv.  223 

Butler,  Colonel  Zebulon,  in  command  of  Forty  Fort . vol.  xiv.  214 

battle  of  Wyoming . vol.  xiv.  214 

Butlers  of  Tryon  County . vol.  xiv.  216 

Bryant,  Lieutenant,  at  Throg’s  Neck . vol.  xiii.  227 

Byrd,  Colonel . vol.  xii.  261 

Byrd,  Mr.,  visits  the  garrison . vol.  xiii.  147 

Byron,  Admiral,  arrives  at  New  York . vol.  xiv.  223 

tries  to  entrap  d’Estaing . . vol.  xiv.  223 

C 

CADWALAder,  Colonel  John,  commands  detachment  of  vol¬ 
unteers . vol.  xiii.  308 

stationed  at  Bristol . vol.  xiii.  308 

prevented  by  the  ice . vol.  xiii.  308 

dilemma . r . vol.  xiii.  325 

marches  to  Burlington . vol.  xiii.  333 

to  Washington,  advising  pursuit . vol.  xiii.  335 

sends  in  pursuit  of  Donop . vol.  xiii.  336 

at  Crosswicks . vol.  xiii.  344 

CADWALADER,  Lambert . vol.  xiii.  141 

at  Fort  Washington . vol.  xiii.  232 

posted  in  the  outer  lines . vol.  xiii.  262 

forced  to  retreat . vol.  xiii.  264 

Caldwell,  Reverend  James,  the  “rousing  gospel  preacher”.. vol.  xiv.  269 

his  church  burned . vol.  xiv.  269 

his  return  home . vol.  xiv.  318 

in  the  fight  at  Springfield . vol.  xiv.  322 

Caldwell,  Mrs.,  killed  by  the  British . vol.  xiv.  317 

popular  excitement . vol.  xiv.  819 

Callbeck,  Mr.,  taken  prisoner . vol.  xii.  561 

to  Washington . - . vol.  xii.  561 

Calvert,  Benedict . vol.  xii.  357 

Cambridge,  assembling  of  patriots . vol.  xii.  383 

Camden,  battle  of . vol.  xiv.  346 

flight  of  American  militia . vol.  xiv.  346 

burned  by  the  British . vol.  xiv.  548 

Campbell,  Colonel  William,  pursues  Major  Ferguson . vol.  xiv.  432 

in  the  battle  of  King’s  Mountain . vol.  xiv.  432 

at  Guilford  Court-house . vol.  xiv.  499 

at  Eutaw  Springs . vol.  xiv.  586 

charges  the  British . vol.  xiv.  586 

his  death . vol.  xiv-  588 

Campbell,  Colonel,  orders  a  retreat . vol.  xiii.  33 


500 


Ipdex 


Campbell,  Lieutenant-colonel,  to  attack  Fort  Montgomery... vol.  xiv.  566 


checked  by  the  Americans . vol.  xiv.  568 

killed .  vol.  xiv.  570 

thrown  into  jail . vol.  xiii.  368 

appeals  to  Washington . vol.  xiii.  368 

exchanged  for  Ethan  Allen . vol.  xiv.  160 

to  surprise  New  Tappan . vol.  xiv.  218 

sails  for  Georgia . vol.  xiv.  223 

lands  his  troops . vol.  xiv.  224 

defeats  the  Americans . vol.  xiv.  224 

takes  Savannah . vol.  xiv.  225 

moderate  conduct . vol.  xiv.  266 

detached  against  Augusta. . vol.  xiv.  194 

Campbell,  Lord,  wounded  at  Sullivan’s  Island . vol.  xiii.  150 

Campbell,  Major,  takes  Ethan  Allen  prisoner . vol.  xii.  523 

killed . vol.  xiv.  600 

Canada,  campaign  against . vol.  xii.  248 

project  of  invasion. . . vol.  xii.  497 

defenses  and  disposition . vol.  xii.  497 

force  of  the  enemy  in . vol.  xiii.  102 

expedition  against,  projected . . . vol.  xiv.  100 

found  impracticable . vol.  xiv.  117 

suspended  by  Congress . vol.  xiv.  121 

Lafayette’s  scheme  against . vol.  xiv.  227 

Washington’s  opposition  to . vol.  xiv.  227 

abandoned . vol.  xiv.  228 

Cape  Breton  to  be  reduced . vol.  xii.  262 

Caramhe,  Lieutenant-governor,  apprised  of  Arnold’s  designs.. vol.  xii.  575 

Carleton,  Colonel  Guy,  commands  the  Grenadiers . vol.  xii.  286 

commands  the  battery  at  the  Isle  of  Orleans . vol.  xii.  280 

persuades  Indians  to  war  against  the  Americans . vol.  xii.  510 

amount  of  forces . vol.  xii.  544 

embarks  for  Montreal . vol.  xii.  546 

attacked  by  Colonel  Warner . vol.  xii.  547 

retreats  to  Montreal . vol.  xii.  547 

flies  from  Montreal . vol.  xii.  552 

escapes  in  disguise . vol.  xii.  552 

arrives  at  Quebec . vol.  xii.  554 

strength  of  force . voL  xii.  586 

treatment  of  Montgomery’s  messengers . vol.  xiii.  26 

captures  Dearborn  and  party . vol.  xiii.  35 

re-enforced . vol.  xiii.  81 

makes  a  sortie . vol.  xiii.  81 

Americans  retreat . vol.  xiii.  82 

treatment  of  Americans . vol.  xiii.  83 

plan  of  campaign . vol.  xiii.  94 

armament  completed . vol.  xiii.  94 

takes  possession  of  Crown  Point . vol.  xiii.  259 

return  to  Canada . vol.  xiii.  259 


Jr>dex 


501 


to  remain  in  Canada . vol.  xiii.  433 

arrives  at  New  York . vol.  xiv.  618 

to  Washington  on  negotiations  for  peace . vol.  xiv.  630 

to  Washington  on  peace . vol.  xv.  31 

preparation  to  evacuate  New  York . vol.  xv.  34 

interview  with  Washington . vol.  xv.  34 

evacuates  New  York . vol.  xv.  47 

Carleton,  Major,  captures  Forts  Anne  and  George . vol.  xiv.  577 

Carlisle,  Earl  of,  commissioner  from  Great  Britain . vol.  xiv.  163 

state  of  Philadelphia . vol.  xiv.  163 

to  George  Selwyn . vol.  xiv.  167 

Carnes,  Captain,  discovers  Champe’s  escape . vol.  xiv.  410 

Carpenter,  Captain,  joins  Lord  Stirling . vol.  xiii.  175 

Carrington,  Lieutenant,  at  Quimby’s  Creek . vol.  xiv.  554 

Carroll,  of  Carrollton,  and  Miss  Custis..*. . vol.  xv.  364 

Caswell,  General,  on  the  road  to  Camden . vol.  xiv.  343 

at  the  battle  of  Camden . vol.  xiv.  345 

Cedars,  affair  at.  . vol.  xiii.  93 

Chadd’s  Ford . vol.  xiii.  531 

Chamberlayne,  Mr.,  asks  Washington  to  dinner... . vol.  xii.  371 

Champe,  John,  scheme  to  entrap  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  410 

pretended  desertion . . . vol.  xiv.  411 

enlists  in  Arnold’s  corps . vol.  xiv.  413 

failure  of  his  plan . . . vol.  xiv.  413 

rewarded . vol.  xiv.  413 

Champlain,  Lake,  engagement . vol.  xiii.  355 

killed  and  wounded . vol.  xiii.  359 

Chapman,  Colonel . vol.  xii.  184 

Charleston  fortified . vol.  xiii.  146 

joy  at  General  Lee’s  arrival . vol.  xiii.  146 

expedition  against . vol.  xiv.  363 

defenses  of . . . vol.  xiv.  387 

re-enforced .  . vol.  xiv.  304 

strength  of  garrison . ...vol.  xiv.  305 

summoned  to  surrender . . . vol.  xiv.  305 

British  batteries  opened  on . vol.  xiv.  306 

capitulates . vol.  xiv.  310 

loss  in  the  siege . vol.  xiv.  310 

Charlestown,  arsenal  sacked . vol.  xii.  389 

burned . vol.  xii.  446 

alarm  during  the  play . . . vol.  xiii.  47 

Charlestown  Neck  to  be  seized  by  the  Americans . vol.  xii.  433 

reconnoitered . vol.  xii.  434 

described . vol.  xii.  435 

Charlottesville,  Tarleton  enters . . . vol.  xiv.  540 

Chastellux,  Marquis  de,  arrives  at  Newport . vol.  xiv.  328 

introduced  to  Washington . vol.  xiv.  420 

description  of  his  visit . vol.  xiv.  535 

reconnoissance . vol.  xiv.  572 


503 


Ipdex 


at  Mount  "Vernon . . . vol.  xiv.  572 

anecdote  of  Mr.  Secretary  Nelson... . vol.  xiv.  593 

Chatham,  Lord,  on  the  opposition  of  the  colonists  to  the 

Mutiny . vol.  xii.  331 

opinion  of  the  General  Congress . : . vol.  xii.  383 

vain  efforts  in  behalf  of  America . vol.  xii.  402 

conciliatory  bill . ....vol.  xii.  404 

Chatter  ton’s  Hill,  military  position . vol.  xiii.  244 

attack  of  the  British . . .  .vol.  xiii.  242 

killed  and  wounded . . . vol.  xiii.  242 

Cheeseman,  Captain,  before  Quebec . vol.  xiii.  31 

death . . . vol.  xiii.  32 

Cherry  Valley,  atrocities  at . vol.  xiv.  232 

Chesapeake,  expedition  against .  vol.  xiv.  241 

Chesterfield  Court  House,  British  maraud . vol.  xiv.  521 

Chestnut  Hill,  British  encamped  on . vol.  xiv.  92 

Chestnut  Neck,  village  destroyed  by  the  British . vol.  xiv.  220 

Chew,  Benjamin,  mansion  of . vol.  xiv.  48 

Chew’s  House,  fortified  by  Musgrave . vol.  xiv.  51 

Cheyney,  Thomas . . . vol.  xiii.  533 

Choisy,  General  M.  de,  arrives  with  troops . vol.  xiv.  576 

crosses  York  River . vol.  xiv.  583 

skirmish  with  Tarleton . . . . . , . .  .vol.  xiv.  583 

Chouin,  Major,  at  the  American  headquarters . vol.  xiv.  198 

Church,  Dr.  Benjamin,  treasonable  letter . vol.  xii.  530 

sentence .  vol.  xii.  531 

mitigation  of  sentence— death . vol.  xii.  531 

Cincinnati,  Society  of,  formed . . . . . vol.  xv.  35 

popular  jealousy  of. . . . vol.  xv.  62 

modification  of  its  constitution. . . . vol.  xv.  62 

Cincinnati,  Society  of  Massachusetts,  address  to  Washington..vol.  xv.  161 

Clark,  Colonel,  joins  Marion. . vol.  xiv.  438 

Clarke,  Colonel  Elijah,  on  the  retreat . vol.  xiv.  428 

Clermont,  exploit  of  Col.  Washington  at . vol.  xiv.  444 

Cleveland,  Colonel,  in  the  battle  of  King’s  Mountain........ vol.  xiv.  433 

Clinton,  Charles . . . vol.  xiv.  464 

Clinton,  George,  conferences  with  Washington . vol.  xiii.  89 

descent  and  career . . . vol.  xiii.  89 

on  the  alert  for  the  British . . . vol.  xiii.  123 

promptness  in  raising  levies . vol.  xiii.  123 

sagacious  measures . . . vol.  xiii.  124 

visits  Forts  Constitution  and  Montgomery . ....vol.  xiii.  125 

arrival  of  re-enforcement . vol.  xiii.  125 

to  Washington  on  the  patriotism  of  the  country  people.. vol.  xiii.  126 

precautions  against  British  ships . . . .  .vol.  xiii.  133 

contemplates  descent  on  Long  Island . vol.  xiii.  2K1 

on  military  exigencies. . .. . vol.  xiii.  244 

stationed  in  the  Highlands . . .vol.  xiii.  248 

safety  of  the  Hudson .....  o  a .  •o.o..om.mm«»»oh..dimc«i»yoL  xiii.  281 


Ipdex 


503 


affair  between  Generals  Lee  and  Heath . . . vol.  xiii.  386 

commands  the  Highlands  forts . . . vol.  xiii.  413 

promoted . vol.  xiii.  413 

his  patriotism . vol.  xiii.  413 

to  Washington  on  his  defenses . vol.  xiii.  413 

governor  of  New  York . vol.  xiii.  468 

on  the  alert . . vol.  xiii.  478 

at  Kingston . vol.  xiii.  563 

hastens  to  the  Highlands . vol.  xiii.  563 

prepares  for  an  attack . vol.  xiii.  567 

escape . vol.  xiii.  568 

measures  to  oppose  the  British . vol.  xiii.  571 

intercepts  a  letter  from  Clinton  to  Burgoyne . vol.  xiii.  573 

reaches  Kingston  too  late . vol.  xiii.  573 

wishes  to  strengthen  the  defenses  of  the  Hudson . vol.  xiv.  76 

finds  money  for  Hamilton . vol.  xiv.  79 

tour  with  Washington . vol.  xv.  43 

summons  State  council  at  East  Chester . vol.  xv.  47 

at  Harlem . vol.  xv.  48 

enters  New  York . vol.  xv.  48 

receives  Washington  at  New  York . vol.  xv.  99 

Clinton,  General  James . vol.  xiii.  89 

Clinton,  James,  at  the  Highlands . vol.  xiii.  89 

descent  and  career . vol.  xiii.  90 

appointed  to  command  Forts  Montgomery  and  Consti¬ 
tution . vol.  xiii.  98 

the  conspiracy  in  New  York . vol.  xiii.  108 

put  on  the  alert . vol.  xiii.  333 

in  command  of  Fort  Clinton . vol.  xiii.  565 

narrow  escape . vol.  xiii.  569 

joins  Sullivan . vol.  xiv.  336 

in  command  of  the  Northern  department . vol.  xiv.  415 

CLINTON,  Sir  Henry,  arrives  at  Boston . vol.  xii.  430 

joins  Howe  at  Bunker’s  Hill . vol.  xii.  448 

described. . . vol.  xii.  467 

arrives  at  New  York  Harbor . vol.  xiii.  40 

interview  with  the  mayor . vol.  xiii.  40 

departure . vol.  xiii.  41 

expedition  to  the  South .  vol.  xii.  146 

lands  at  Long  Island,  S.  C . vol.  xii.  146 

constructs  batteries . vol.  xii.  147 

attempts  to  cross  from  Long  Island . vol.  xii.  148 

repulsed  in  another  attempt . . vol.  xii.  148 

arrival  at  New  York . vol.  xii.  157 

lands  on  Long  Island . vol.  xii.  167 

atFlatlands . vol.  xii.  169 

marches  from  Flatlands . vol.  xii.  173 

secures  the  Bedford  Pass . vol.  xii.  173 

jrosses  from  Long  Island . vol.  xii.  197 


504 


Ii?dex 


Clinton,  Sir  Henry,  advances  against  White  Plains. . vol.  xii.  239 

awaits  re-enforcements . vol.  xiii.  562 

moves  up  the  Hudson . vol.  xiii.  564 

lands  at  Verplanck’s  Point . vol.  xiii.  565 

plan  of  operations . vol.  xiii.  565 

crosses  to  Stony  Point . vol.  xiii.  565 

marches  round  the  Dunderberg . vol.  xiii.  566 

divides  his  force . vol.  xiii.  566 

meets  with  opposition . vol.  xiii.  568 

letter  to  Burgoyne  intercepted . vol.  xiii.  573 

project  to  capture . vol.  xiv.  147 

plan  to  entrap  Lafayette . vol.  xiv.  158 

ordered  to  evacuate  Philadelphia . vol.  xiv.  163 

informs  Washington  of  the  arrival  of  commissioners . . .  .vol.  xiv.  165 

evacuates  Philadelphia . vol.  xiv.  170 

dilatory  movements . vol.  xiv.  172 

at  Allentown . vol.  xiv.  172 

changes  plan  of  route . vol.  xiv.  173 

changes  the  line  of  march . vol.  xiv.  174 

encamps  near  Monmouth  Court-house . vol.  xiv.  175 

battle  of  Monmouth  Court-house . vol.  xiv.  180 

falls  back . vol.  xiv.  181 

silent  retreat . vol.  xiv.  183 

arrives  at  Sandy  Hook . vol.  xiv.  183 

arrives  at  Newport . vol.  xiv.  209 

returns  to  New  York . vol.  xiv.  209 

sends  troops  into  the  Jerseys  and  Westchester  County.. .vol.  xiv.  217 

sets  on  foot  a  naval  expedition  against  St.  Lucia . ....vol.  xiv.  223 

confined  to  predatory  warfare . vol.  xiv.  237 

expedition  up  the  Hudson . vol.  xiv.  239 

takes  Stony  Point . vol.  xiv.  239 

captures  Fort  Lafayette . vol.  xiv.  240 

returns  to  New  York . vol.  xiv.  241 

desolating  expedition  against  Connecticut . vol.  xiv.  242 

capture  of  Stony  Point  by  Wayne . vol.  xiv.  246 

hastens  up  the  Hudson . vol.  xiv.  248 

fortifies  and  garrisons  Stony  Point . vol.  xiv.  249 

returns  to  Philipsburg . vol.  xiv.  249 

concentrates  his  forces  at  New  York . vol.  xiv.  258 

expedition  to  South  Carolina . vol.  xiv.  262 

damage  during  the  voyage . vol.  xiv.  285 

at  Tybee  Bay . vol.  xiv.  285 

disembarks  at  St.  John’s  Island . vol.  xiv.  286 

advance  to  Charleston . vol.  xiv.  286 

on  Charleston  Neck . ; . . .  .vol.  xiv.  287 

re-enforced . vol.  xiv.  309 

fall  of  Charleston . vol.  xiv.  310 

sends  expeditions  into  the  interior . vol.  xiv.  313 

garrisons  South  Carolina . vol.  xiv.  314 


Ipdex 


505 


issues  a  proclamation . vol.  xiv.  314 

embarks  for  New  York . vol.  xiv.  315 

arrives  at  New  York . vol.  xiv.  321 

project  against  Rhode  Island . vol.  xiv.  333 

changes  his  plan . vol.  xiv.  333 

correspondence  with  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  355 

releases  Arnold’s  crew . vol.  xiv.  381 

to  Washington,  claiming  the  release  of  Andre . vol.  xiv.  389 

rejects  exchange  of  Arnold  for  Andre . vol.  xiv.  393 

sends  commission  relative  to  Andre . vol.  xiv.  394 

detaches  Arnold  to  Virginia . vol.  xiv.  438 

proceedings  on  the  revolt  of  Pennsylvania  line . vol.  xiv.  455 

on  the  destruction  of  Cornwallis’s  baggage.... . vol.  xiv.  479 

to  Cornwallis  for  troops . vol.  xiv.  537 

hears  of  the  Virginia  expedition . vol.  xiv.  565 

promised  relief  to  Cornwallis . vol.  xiv.  580 

tardy  movements . vol.  xiv.  605 

refuses  to  deliver  the  murderer  of  Captain  Huddy . vol.  xiv.  614 

recalled  at  his  own  request . vol.  xiv.  618 

Closter  Dock,  landing  of  British . vol.  xiii.  273 

Clough,  Major,  killed . vol.  xiv.  224 

Coates,  Lieutenant-colonel,  at  Monk’s  Corner . vol.  xiv.  551 

decamps  in  silence . vol.  xiv.  553 

bold  stand . .vol.  xiv.  553 

Cobble  Hill  fortified  by  Putnam . vol.  xii.  566 

Cochran,  Major,  expedition  against  the  Onondagas . vol.  xiv.  236 

Cochrane,  Major,  march  from  Savannah.; . vol.  xiv.  304 

Coffin,  Major,  put  to  flight . vol.  xiv.  586 

Colburn,  Colonel,  watches  the  enemy . vol.  xiii.  550 

Colden,  Lieutenant-governor,  retires  into  the  fort . vol.  xii.  327 

assailed  by  the  mob . vol.  xii.  327 

burned  in  effigy . vol.  xii.  327 

Cole,  Colonel . . vol.  xii.  228 

Collier,  Admiral  Sir  G.,  convoys  expedition  to  Chesapeake.. vol.  xiv.  237 

expedition  up  the  Hudson . vol.  xiv.  239 

convoys  expedition  against  Connecticut . vol.  xiv.  241 

confers  with  Sir  Henry  Clinton . vol.  xiv.  247 

arrives  at  the  Penobscot .  . vol.  xiv.  252 

relieves  the  fort . vol*  xiv.  252 

Commissariat,  changes  in . vol.  xiii.  473 

Commissioners  arrive  from  Great  Britain . . . vol.  xiv.  162 

land  at  Philadelphia . vol.  xiv.  162 

letter  to  Congress . vol.  xiv.  164 

unsuccessful  attempts  at  negotiation . vol.  xiv.  165 

embark  for  England . vol.  xiv.  165 

Committee  of  Arrangement,  appointed  by  Congress . vol.  xiv.  146 

report  on  the  sufferings  of  the  army . vol.  xiv.  134 

Committee  of  Conference  with  Lord  Howe . vol.  xiii.  197 

conference . . . . . vol.  xiii.  199 

Vol.  XV.—**  *  22 


506 


Ir?dex 


Committee  of  Inquiry  visit  Arnold . vol.  xii.  500 

their  instructions . vol.  xii.  500 

Committee  of  Safety . vol.  xii.  397 

suspect  a  design  on  the  magazine  at  Concord . vol.  xii.  406 

urge  the  enlistment  of  troops . .vol.  xii.  414 

appoint  Arnold  Colonel . vol.  xii.  417 

Conciliatory  bills  sent  to  America . vol.  xiv.  152 

effect  of . vol.  xiv.  155 

Concord,  military  stores  collected  at . vol.  xii.  398 

expedition  against . vol.  xii.  404 

alarm  of  the  people . vol.  xii.  404 

advance  of  the  British . vol.  xii.  406 

take  possession  of  the  town . vol.  xii.  407 

destroy  the  stores . vol.  xii.  408 

British  attacked . vol.  xii.  408 

British  retreat  harassed  by  the  Americans . vol.  xii.  409 

Confederacy,  ratification  of  the . vol.  xiv.  460 

Congress  (General)  recommended  by  the  Virginia  House  of 

Burgesses . vol.  xii.  365 

first  meeting  fixed  upon . vol.  xii.  365 

assembled . vol.  xii.  377 

prayers .  vol.  xii.  378 

rumors  that  Boston  had  been  cannonaded . vol.  xii.  379 

opening  speeches . vol.  xii.  381 

declaration  of  colonial  rights . vol.  xii.  382 

resolutions . vol.  xii.  382 

state  papers . vol.  xii.  382 

held  at  New  York . vol.  xii.  326 

denounces  the  acts  of  Parliament . vol.  xii.  326 

address  to  the  king  and  petition  to  Parliament . vol.  xii.  327 

its  discussion . vol.  xii.  384 

masterly  state  papers . . ....vol.  xii.  384 

the  second  general . vol.  xii.  421 

petition  to  the  king  moved . vol.  xii.  421 

federal  union  formed . vol.  xii.  422 

council  of  twelve. . vol.  xii.  422 

exercise  their  federated  powers . vol.  xii.  422 

retaliating  decree . vol.  xii.  423 

declare  Massachusetts  absolved  from  the  crown . vol.  xii.  423 

adopt  the  army . vol.  xii.  426 

elect  Washington  commander-in-chief . vol.  xii.  426 

other  military  appointments . vol.  xii.  427 

on  the  English  generals . vol.  xii.  466 

on  General  Howe . vol.  xii.  466 

accept  Ticonderoga .  . vol.  xii.  497 

determine  to  invade  Canada . vol.  xii.  502 

committee  from,  confer  with  Washington . vol.  xii.  535 

order  formation  of  a  new  army . vol.  xii.  536 

to  Schuyler  on  his  proposed  resignation . vol.  xii.  552 


Ir>dex 


507 

Congress  order  Schuyler  to  Try  on  County . vol.  xiii.  37 

applaud  Schuyler’s  conduct . vol.  xiii.  38 

divide  the  middle  and  southern  colonies  into  two  depart¬ 
ments  . . . vol.  xiii.  70 

enlistment  act . vol.  xiii.  88 

establish  a  war  office . vol.  xiii.  88 

declare  the  United  States  free  and  independent . . vol.  xiii.  118 

adopt  the  Declaration  of  Independence . vol.  xiii.  119 

settle  dispute  between  Schuyler  and  Gates .  vol.  xiii.  138 

action  on  Lord  Howe’s  overtures . „ . vol.  xiii.  196 

appoint  a  committee  to  confer  with  Lord  Howe . vol.  xiii.  197 

leave  the  question  of  the  abandonment  of  New  York  to 

Washington’s  discretion . vol.  xiii.  201 

forbid  the  destruction  of  New  York . vol.  xiii.  202 

reorganizes  the  army . vol.  xiii.  215 

requests  Washington  to  obstruct  the  Hudson . vol.  xiii.  230 

clothes  Washington  with  additional  powers . vol.  xiii.  307 

invests  Washington  with  dictatorial  powers. . vol.  xiii.  335 

refuses  to  comply  with  Lee’s  request . . . . vol.  xiii.  366 

retaliatory  measures . vol.  xiii.  866 

declines  the  resignation  of  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  387 

reprimands  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  387 

makes  Arnold  Major-general . vol.  xiii.  401 

vote  Arnold  a  horse . vol.  xiii.  401 

refuse  to  admit  Gates  to  the  floor . vol.  xiii.  411 

summon  Schuyler  and  St.  Clair . vol.  xiii.  471 

appoint  Gates  to  the  command  of  the  northern  depart¬ 
ment . vol.  xiii.  472 

proceedings  of,  at  the  battle  of  Brandywine.... . vol.  xiii.  538 

anonymous  letter  to,  against  Washington . vol.  xiv.  107 

refuses  to  treat  with  Great  Britain . vol.  xiv.  153 

recommend  the  pardoning  of  Tories . vol.  xiv.  153 

ratifies  treaties  with  France . vol.  xiv.  155 

reception  of  the  dispatches  of  the  British  commissioners. vol.  xiv.  165 

reply  to  the  commissioners . vol.  xiv.  165 

refuse  to  negotiate  with  Johnstone . vol.  xiv.  166 

approves  the  sentence  of  Lee .  vol.  xiv.  191 

informs  Washington  of  the  arrival  of  the  French  fleet.,  .vol.  xiv.  197 

approve  of  d’Estaing’s  conduct . vol.  xiv.  211 

approve  Lafayette’s  Canada  scheme . vol.  xiv.  227 

deterioration  of . vol.  xiv.  229 

vote  a  gold  medal  to  Major  Henry  Lee . vol.  xiv.  255 

financi&l  difficulties . vol.  xiv.  265 

charges  against  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  276 

order  court-martial  on  Arnold . ...vol.  xiv.  278 

confirms  sentence  against  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  280 

jealousy  of  military  powers . vol.  xiv.  293 

appoint  a  committee  to  confer  with  Washington . vol.  xiv.  293 

appoint  Gates  to  the  southern  department . vol.  xiv.  327 


508 


Ipdex 


accepts  Greene’s  resignation . voL  xiv.  335 

rewards  the  captors  of  Andre . vol.  xiv.  402 

order  a  court  of  inquiry  into  the  conduct  of  Gates . vol.  xiv.  413 

new  system  for  the  organization  and  support  of  the  army. vol.  xiv.  416 

send  Colonel  Laurens  to  France . vol.  xiv.  449 

committee  to  meet  Pennsylvania  insurgents . vol.  xiv.  455 

appoints  heads  of  departments . vol.  xiv.  463 

rejoicings  at  the  surrender  of  Yorktown . vol.  xiv.  606 

resolutions  concerning  Lafayette . vol.  xiv.  611 

murder  of  Captain  Huddy . vol.  xiv.  614 

proclamation  concerning  peace . vol.  xv.  31 

resolution  concerning  the  service  of  the  soldiers . vol.  xv.  33 

threatened  by  mutineers . vol.  xv.  41 

discharge  of  the  army . vol.  xv.  44 

resignation  of  Washington . vol.  xv.  52 

its  composition . vol.  xv.  145 

reassembles . vol.  xv.  166 

assumption  of  State  debts  discussed . vol.  xv.  176 

adopted . vol.  xv.  178 

discords  in  . vol.  xv.  181 

reassembles  at  Philadelphia . vol.  xv.  192 

impost  and  excise  bill . vol.  xv.  192 

assembling  of  the  second . vol.  xv.  206 

apportionment  bill . vol.  xv.  217 

assembles  December,  1793 . vol.  xv.  284 

does  justice  to  Washington . vol.  xv.  286 

bill  to  increase  naval  force . vol.  xv.  293 

Washington’s  denunciation  of  secret  societies . vol.  xv.  311 

response  to  Washington . vol.  xv.  335 

reply  to  Washington’s  last  address . vol.  xv.  351 

authorizes  the  enlistment  of  a  provisional  army . .  .vol.  xv.  375 

Congress  (Massachusetts)  at  Boston.. . vol.  xii.  396 

adjourn  to  Concord . vol.  xii.  396 

assume  supreme  authority . vol.  xii.  397 

remonstrate  with  Governor  Gage . vol.  xii.  397 

system  and  order . vol.  xii.  398 

nominate  general  officers .  vol.  xii.  398 

Connecticut  abets  the  opposition  of  Massachusetts . vol.  xii.  376 

sends  volunteers . vol.  xii.  414 

Legislature  of,  favor  the  surprisal  of  Ticonderoga  and 

Crown  Point . vol.  xii.  414 

committee  appointed . * . vol.  xii.  415 

Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island  fit  out  armed  vessels. .  .vol.  xii.  530 

troops  desert . vol.  xii.  559 

reception  at  home . vol.  xii.  559 

troops  described  by  Gray  don . vol.  xiii.  141 

by  Washington . vol.  xiii.  143 

dingy  regimentals . .vol.  xiii.  143 

their  composition . vol.  xiii.  144 


Ii?dex 


509 


British  expedition  against . 

Connecticut  Farms  sacked  by  the  enemy . 

Conspiracy  in  New  York . . . . 

letter  relative  to . 

its  ramifications . 

Constitution  of  the  United  States,  formation  of. . 

opposition  to . 

Continental  Army.  (See  American  Army.) 

Contrecceur,  Captain,  surprises  the  fort . 

Contributions  for  the  Continental  Army . . 

Convention  of  Virginia  at  Williamsburg . 

at  Richmond . 

for  considering  and  revising  the  federal  system, 

Conway’s  Cabal . . 

Conway,  General,  appointed  brigadier-general . 

character  of . 

in  Washington’s  camp . 

gallant  conduct . . 

pretensions  of . . 

joins  faction  opposed  to  Washington . 

correspondence  with  Gates . 

attempts  at  explanation  . . . 

sends  in  his  resignation . 

promoted.  . 

to  Washington  on  his  letter . 

remains  at  Albany . 

to  be  appointed  to  the  Canada  expedition . 

Lafayette’s  opinion  of . . . 

downfall  of . 

resignation  accepted . 

fails  to  get  reinstated . . 

duel  of  Cadwalader . 

penitential  letter  to  Washington . 

subsequent  history . 

Cook,  James,  in  the  expedition  against  Quebec . 

sounds  the  river . 

Copp’s  Hill,  British  battery  on . 

Corbie’s  Tavern . . 

rendezvous  of  conspirators . 

Cornplanter,  at  the  seat  of  government . 

Cornwallis,  Lord,  arrival  at  New  York . . 

lands  on  Long  Island . . 

advances  against  Hand . 

posts  for  the  night  at  Flatbush .  . 

leaves  Flatbush  with  a  rear-guard . 

crosses  the  Hudson  above  Fort  Lee . . 

marches  against  Washington . . 

at  the  Delaware . . 

gives  up  the  pursuit . 


vol.  xiv.  240 

. vol.  xiv.  316 

. . vol.  xiii.  106 

.  .(note)  vol.  xiii.  110 

. vol.  xiii.  Ill 

. vol.  xv.  99 

. . vol.  xv.  122 

. vol.  xii.  98 

. vol.  xiv.  327 

. ...vol.  xii.  370 

. vol.  xii.  370 

. . vol.  xv.  98 

. . vol.  xiv.  64 

. vol.  xiii.  391 

. . vol.  xiii.  391 

. vol.  xiii.  526 

. vol.  xiii.  538 

. . vol.  xiv.  64 

. vol.  xiv.  65 

. vol.  xiv.  68 

. vol.  xiv.  68 

. vol.  xiv.  68 

. . vol.  xiv.  92 

. vol.  xiv.  113 

. vol.  xiv.  115 

. vol.  xiv.  109 

. vol.  xiv.  110 

. vol.  xiv.  150 

. vol.  xiv.  150 

. . vol.  xiv.  150 

.  .(note)  vol.  xiv.  151 
.  .(note)  vol.  xiv.  151 
.  .(note)  vol.  xiv.  151 

. vol.  xii.  286 

. vol.  xii.  291 

. vol.  xii.  437 

. . vol.  xiii.  107 

. vol.  xiii.  107 

. vol.  xv.  196 

. vol.  xiii.  156 

. . vol.  xiii.  167 

. . vol.  xiii.  167 

. . vol.  xiii.  167 

. . ..vol.  xiii.  172 

. . vol.  xiii.  273 

. . vol.  xiii.  299 

. . . . . vol.  xiii.  294 

. vol.  xiii.  294 


510 


Ipdex 


Cornwallis,  Lord,  at  New  York . vol.  xiii.  808 

resumes  command  in  the  Jerseys . vol.  xiii.  337 

approaches  the  American  forces . vol.  xiii.  339 

enters  Trenton . vol.  xiii.  339 

repulsed  by  Washington . vol.  xiii.  339 

alarm  at  the  escape  of  Washington . vol.  xiii.  348 

pushes  forward  to  Princeton . vol.  xiii.  348 

arrives  at  Brunswick . vol.  xiii.  349 

irksome  position . vol.  xiii.  352 

to  Washington  concerning  Hessian  prisoners . vol.  xiii.  354 

gains  Washington’s  rear . vol.  xiii.  535 

advances  to  the  attack . vol.  xiii.  535 

marches  into  Philadelphia . vol.  xiii.  538 

pursues  the  Americans . vol.  xiv.  53 

takes  Fort  Mercer . vol.  xiv.  61 

sent  into  the  Jerseys . vol.  xiv.  217 

in  the  expedition  against  South  Carolina . vol.  xiv.  263 

completes  the  investment  of  Charleston . vol.  xiv.  311 

moves  against  Colonel  Buford . vol.  xiv.  311 

approves  of  Tarleton’s  conduct . vol.  xiv.  313 

headquarters  at  Charleston . vol.  xiv.  338 

at  Camden . vol.  xiv.  344 

amount  of  force . vol.  xiv.  344 

sends  in  pursuit  of  Sumter . vol.  xiv.  347 

vigorous  measures . vol.  xiv.  349 

takes  post  at  Charlotte . vol.  xiv.  348 

returns  to  South  Carolina. . vol.  xiv.  435 

takes  post  at  Winnsborough . vol.  xiv.  436 

plan  for  invading  North  Carolina . vol.  xiv.  469 

pursues  Morgan . vol.  xiv.  470 

at  Ramsour’s  Mills . vol.  xiv.  479 

destroys  his  baggage . vol.  xiv.  479 

affair  at  McGowan’s  Ford . vol.  xiv.  483 

encamped  at  Salem . vol.  xiv.  486 

amount  of  force . . vol.  xiv.  486 

march  to  the  Dan . vol.  xiv.  487 

retrograde  movement . . vol.  xiv.  491 

takes  post  at  Hillsborough . vol.  xiv.  491 

proclamation . vol.  xiv.  491 

encamps  near  Alamance  Creek . vol.  xiv.  495 

attacks  the  Americans  at  Wetzell’s  Mill . .vol.  xiv.  496 

battle  of  Guilford  Court-house . vol.  xiv.  498 

retreats  to  Cross  Creek . vol.  xiv.  505 

number  of  troops . vol.  xiv.  497 

at  Guilford  Court-house . vol.  xiv.  498 

retreats  to  Wilmington. . . . . vol.  xiv.  508 

perplexities . vol.  xiv.  508 

sets  off  for  Virginia . vol.  xiv.  511 

arrives  at  Petersburg . vol.  xiv.  524 


Ir>dex 


511 


amount  of  force . vol.  xiv.  534 

renewed  hope . vol.  xiv.  535 

movement  against  Lafayettee . vol.  xiv.  539 

re-enforced . vol.  xiv.  539 

pursues  Lafayette . . . . vol.  xiv.  540 

retrograde  march . vol.  xiv.  543 

at  Williamsburg . vol.  xiv.  543 

sets  out  for  Portsmouth . vol.  xiv.  543 

takes  post  at  Yorktown . vol.  xiv.  568 

feeling  of  security . vol.  xiv.  568 

arrival  of  De  Grasse .  . vol.  xiv.  570 

retreat  cut  off . . . vol.  xiv.  569 

to  Clinton  on  promised  relief . vol.  xiv.  579 

draws  within  the  town . . . vol.  xiv.  579 

to  Clinton,  critical  situation . vol.  xiv.  599 

plan  of  escape . . vol.  xiv.  600 

proposes  a  capitulation . . . vol.  xiv.  617 

capitulates . vol.  xiv.  618 

humiliation . vol.  xiv.  630 

treatment  by  the  captors . vol.  xiv.  631 

sails  for  New  York  on  parole . vol.  xiv.  633 

Corresponding  Committees . vol.  xii.  363 

Coryell’s  Ferry,  Washington  at . . . vol.  xiii.  466 

Council  at  Alexandria . vol.  xii.  168 

Council  of  Indians  at  Logstown . , . . vol.  xii.  90 

Courtney,  Captain,  killed  in  action .  .vol.  xv.  378 

Cow  Boys . vol.  xiv.  367 

Cowpens,  situation  of . vol.  xiv.  473 

battle  of . . . vol.  xiv.  475 

killed  and  wounded . vol.  xiv.  476 

spoils  taken . . . vol.  xiv.  476 

Cox,  Colonel,  dispute  with  General  Herkimer . vol.  xiii.  497 

shot  down . . . vol.  xiii.  500 

Craigie,  Andrew . . . (note)  vol.  xii.  474 

Craigie  House . (note)  vol.  xii.  474 

(Jraik,  Dr.  James . vol.  xii.  151 

advises  Washington  to  retire  to  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xii.  359 

a  visitor  at  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xii.  303 

accompanies  Washington . vol.  xii.  346 

at  Mount  Vernon . . vol.  xii.  399 

appointed  to  the  Hospital  department . . vol.  xiii.  417 

to  Washington  on  his  secret  enemies . vol.  xiv.  105 

application  to  Washington . vol.  xv.  56 

accompanies  Washington . vol.  xv.  63 

attends  Washington . vol.  xv.  594 

Crawford,  Hugh,  brings  a  message  from  the  Miami  tribes.... vol.  xii.  71 

Croghan,  George,  sent  from  Pennsylvania  to  treat  with  the 

Indians . vol.  xii.  73 

appointed  commissioner . vol.  xii.  161 


512 


Ii)dex 


his  reverses... . 

to  Governor  Morris . 

enlists  Indians  and  hunters . 

letter . 

arrives  at  Braddock’s  camp  with  Indians . 

dangers  and  escapes . 

Croton  River . 

Crown  Point,  preparations  against . . . 

to  be  reduced . 

expedition  against . 

surprised  by  Seth  Warner .  . 

abandoned . 

abandoned  by  the  Americans . 

Cruger,  Lieutenant-colonel,  commands  expedition  to  the  dis¬ 
trict  of  Ninety-Six . 

commands  at  Ninety-Six . . . . . . . . 

Custis,  John  Parke,  his  estate . 

Custis,  John  Parke,  Washington’s  conduct  toward . 

character  and  education . 

in  love . . 

marriage . . . 

death  of . 

Custis,  George  W.  P.,  accompanies  Mrs.  Washington . 

Custis,  Mrs.  Martha,  meeting  with  Washington . . 

Custis,  Miss,  death  of . 

Custis,  Eleanor,  accompanies  Mrs.  Washington . 

accompanies  Washington . 

described . 

halcyon  days,  anecdote . 

marries  Lawrence  Lewis . 

Cuyler,  Yan  Yost . 

in  St.  Leger’s  camp . 

Currency,  derangement  of . . 

depreciation  of . . . 

Cushing,  Mrs.,  to  her  husband . . . ... . 

Cushing,  Mr . 

Cushing,  William,  judge  of  Supreme  Court . 

administers  the  oath  of  office  to  Washington . 


.vol.  xii.  161 
.vol.  xii.  170 
.vol.  xii.  171 
..vol.  xii.  171 
.vol.  xii.  179 
.vol.  xii.  347 
.vol.  xiv.  526 
.vol.  xii.  415 
.vol.  xii.  261 
.vol.  xii.  230 
.vol.  xii.  419 
.vol.  xiii.  137 
vol.  xiii.  261 

.vol.  xiv.  311 
vol.  xiv.  549 
.vol.  xii.  301 
.vol.  xii.  301 
.vol.  xii.  356 
.vol.  xii.  356 
.vol.  xii.  357 
.vol.  xiv.  609 
.vol.  xv.  133 
vol.  xiv.  272 
.vol.  xiv.  356 
.vol.  xv.  133 
.vol.  xv.  358 
.vol.  xv.  362 
.vol.  xv.  364 
.vol.  xv.  386 
vol.  xiii.  516 
vol.  xiii.  516 
vol.  xiv.  265 
vol.  xiv.  280 
.vol.  xii.  390 
.vol.  xii.  423 
.vol.  xv.  144 
.vol.  xv.  247 


S> 

Dagworthy,  Captain . vol.  xii.  225 

Dallas,  Mr.,  interview  with  Genet . vol.  xv.  268 

Danbury,  expedition  against .  . vol.  xiii.  396 

destroyed  by  the  British . „vol,  xiii.  398 

Darke,  Colonel,  with  General  St.  Clair . , . vol.  xv.  209 

at  St.  Clair’s  defeat .  vol.  xv.  211 

Dartmouth,  Lord,  to  General  Gage . vol.  xii.  396 

D’Aubry  attempts  to  relieve  Port  Niagara . vol.  xii.  285 

is  defeated . vol.  xii.  285 


fi)dex 


513 


Davidson,  John,  Indian  interpreter . vol.  xii.  93 

Davidson,  General,  at  McGowan’s  Ford . vol.  xiv.  482 

death  of . vol.  xiv.  483 

Davie,  General,  and  Greene . vol.  xiv.  548 

Davie,  William  Richardson,  on  mission  to  France . vol.  xv.  388 

Davis,  Reverend  Samuel,  appreciation  of  Washington . vol.  xii.  220 

Dayton,  Colonel  Elias,  takes  Johnson  Hall . . . vol.  xiii.  95 

retires  before  Knyphausen . vol.  xiv.  316 

falls  in  with  General  Maxwell . vol.  xiv.  317 

fight  at  Springfield . vol.  xiv.  322 

Deane,  Mr.,  and  French  officers . vol.  xiii.  390 

Deane,  Silas,  returns  to  America . . . vol.  xiv.  196 

Dearborn,  Captain,  captured  by  General  Carleton . vol.  xiii.  34 

Dearborn,  Major,  receives  Lady  Ackland . vol.  xiv.  34 

De  Barras,  arrival  at  the  Chesapeake . vol.  xiv.  575 

noble  conduct . vol.  xiv.  575 

De  Berdt,  Dennis,  on  the  mission  of  Lord  Howe . vol.  xiii.  127 

Deborre,  General . vol.  xiii.  526 

resignation.. . vol.  xiii.  538 

Debt  of  the  United  States . vol.  xv.  169 

De  Buysson,  aid-de-camp  to  DeKalb . vol.  xiv.  347 

De  Fermois,  at  Ticonderoga . vol.  xiii.  435 

De  Grasse,  Count,  bound  for  the  Chesapeake . vol.  xiv.  560 

arrives  in  the  Chesapeake . vol.  xiv.  573 

urges  Lafayette  to  attack  Yorktown. . . vol.  xiv.  574 

action  with  British  fleet . . . vol.  xiv.  574 

junction  with  De  Barras  . . vol.  xiv.  576 

receives  Washington . vol.  xiv.  577 

arrival  of  Admiral  Digby . vol.  xiv.  579 

consents  to  remain . vol.  xiv.  579 

departure . vol.  xiv.  608 

De  Heister,  Lieutenant-general,  on  Long  Island . vol.  xiii.  171 

reaches  Flatbush . vol.  xiii.  171 

cannonades  Colonel  Hand . vol.  xiii.  175 

advances  against  White  Plains . . . vol.  xiii.  239 

treatment  of  Lord  Stirling . vol.  xiii.  328 

De  Kalb,  Baron,  at  Philadelphia . . . vol.  xiii.  479 

appointed  major-general . vol.  xiv.  63 

appointed  to  the  Canada  expedition . vol.  xiv.  110 

sent  to  re-enforce  Lincoln . vol.  xiv.  290 

advance  retarded . . . vol.  xiv.  341 

halts  at  Deep  River . vol.  xiv.  341 

applications  for  aid . vol.  xiv.  342 

meeting  with  Gates . vol.  xiv.  342 

at  the  battle  of  Camden . vol.  xiv.  345 

death  of . vol.  xiv.  347 

De  La  Croix,  M.,  complaints  against  the  American  Govern¬ 
ment  . .  .vol.  xv.  345 

Delancey,  Lieutenant-governor . vol.  xii.  168 


614 


Ipdex 


De  Lancet,  Oliver,  recruiting  on  Long  Island  . . .vol.  xiii.  216 

Delancey,  Colonel,  loyalist . vol.  xiv.  526 

surprises  Colonel  Greene . . ....vol.  xiv.  527 

Delaplace,  Captain,  surprised  by  Ethan  Allen . vol.  xii.  418 

sent  prisoner  to  Hartford . vol.  xii.  419 

Delawares,  Shawnees,  and  Mingoes,  in  council  at  Logstown..  .vol.  xii.  87 

De  Levi,  takes  post  at  Oswegatchie . vol.  xii.  285 

rallies  the  French  forces  . vol.  xii.  297 

approaches  Quebec . vol.  xii.  297 

lands  at  Point-au-Tremble . vol.  xii.  297 

is  attacked  by  Murray. . . vol.  xii.  298 

repulses  him . vol.  xii.  299 

opens  trenches  before  Quebec .  vol.  xii.  299 

retreat . vol.  xii.  299 

Democratic  Society,  formation  of . vol.  xv.  273 

Democratic  Societies,  Washington  concerning . vol.  xv.  310 

Democrats,  party  formed . vol.  xv.  195 

Denison,  Colonel,  at  the  battle  of  Wyoming . ..vol.  xiv.  214 

De  Ramsey,  commands  the  garrison  at  Quebec  . vol.  xii.  296 

D’Estaing,  Count,  arrival  with  French  fleet . vol.  xiv.  196 

to  Washington,  on  his  arrival . vol.  xiv.  196 

correspondence  with  Washington . vol.  xiv.  198 

plan  of  operations . vol.  xiv.  199 

off  Point  Judith . vol.  xiv.  200 

opposite  Newport . vol.  xiv.  200 

arrival  of  Lord  Howe’s  fleet . vol.  xiv.  201 

stands  out  to  sea . vol.  xiv.  201 

maneuvers  of  the  fleets . vol.  xiv.  202 

return  to  Newport . vol.  xiv.  202 

to  Sullivan  on  his  intention  of  proceeding  to  Boston . vol.  xiv.  202 

protest  of  American  officers . vol.  xiv.  204 

proceeds  to  Boston . vol.  xiv.  204 

to  Congress  explanatory  of  his  conduct . vol.  xiv.  212 

considerate  letter  from  Washington . vol.  xiv.  213 

sails  for  the  West  Indies . . vol.  xiv.  222 

proclamation  to  the  French  Canadians . vol.  xiv.  223 

arrival  on  the  coast  of  Georgia . vol.  xiv.  258 

unsuccessful  siege  of  Savannah . vol.  xiv.  261 

wounaeci . vol.  xiv.  261 

sails  for  France . vol.  xiv.  262 

Destottches,  Chevalier,  to  send  ships  to  the  Chesapeake . vol.  xiv.  511 

encounters  the  British  fleet . vol.  xiv.  513 

Deuxponts,  Count  de,  wounded . vol.  xiv.  598 

De  Vaudreuil,  fortifies  himself  at  Montreal . vol.  xii.  299 

threatened  by  General  Amherst . vol.  xii.  299 

capitulates . vol.  xii.  300 

DICK,  Dr.,  attends  Washington... . vol.  xv.  394 

Dickinson,  drafts  a  petition  to  the  king  and  an  address  to  the 

people  of  Canada . . .  . . vol.  xii.  384 


Ipdex 


515 


Dickinson,  General  Philemon,  gallant  exploit  of . vol.  xiii.  358 

to  watch  the  enemy . vol.  xiv.  170 

alarm  signals . vol.  xiv.  225 

Dickinson,  Major,  slain  at  Monmouth  Court-house . vol.  xiv.  185 

Dieskau,  Baron  de,  takes  post  at  Crown  Point . vol.  xii.  227 

mortally  wounded . vol.  xii.  229 

Digby,  Admiral,  on  negotiations  for  peace . vol.  xiv.  620 

Digges,  Mr . vol.  xii.  311 

Dinwiddie,  Governor  . vol.  xii.  90 

calls  upon  the  governors  of  the  other  provinces  to  make 

common  cause  against  the  foe . vol.  xii.  114 

convenes  the  House  of  Burgesses . vol.  xii.  114 

to  Washington  about  Captain  Mackay . vol.  xii.  136 

orders  Washington  to  Will’s  Creek . vol.  xii.  151 

his  perplexities . vol.  xii.  151 

refuses  to  give  up  the  French  prisoners . vol.  xii.  153 

efforts  to  secure  Indian  allies . vol.  xii.  162 

convenes  the  Assembly . vol.  xii.  217 

conduct  to  Washington .  . vol.  xii.  218 

unsatisfactory  relations  with  Washington . ...vol.  xii.  246 

his  interference  with  Washington . vol.  xii.  246 

pique  against  Washington . vol.  xii.  247 

ungracious  reply  to  Washington . . . vol.  xii.  250 

prejudice  against  Washington . vol.  xii.  257 

conduct  toward  Washington . vol.  xii.  257 

sails  for  England . vol.  xii.  258 

character .  vol.  xii.  258 

Dismal  Swamp . vol.  xii.  313 

Dismal  Swamp  Company . vol.  xii.  313 

District  of  Columbia  ceded  to  the  United  States . vol.  xv.  179 

Dobb’s  Ferry,  British  at . vol.  xiii.  248 

works  thrown  up . vol.  xiv.  334 

Donop,  Count,  at  Long  Island . vol.  xiii.  168 

storms  the  redoubt . vol.  xiii.  177 

crosses  from  Long  Island . vol.  xiii.  205 

decoyed  by  Colonel  Griffin . vol.  xiii.  331 

precipitate  retreat . vol.  xiii.  331 

attacks  Fort  Mercer . vol.  xiv.  60 

repulsed . vol.  xiv.  61 

death  of . vol.  xiv.  62 

Donop’s  Yagers  surprised . vol.  xiv.  221 

Dorchester  Heights,  to  be  fortified . vol.  xii.  435 

preparations  to  occupy . vol.  xiii.  50 

letters  relative  to . vol.  xiii.  50 

fortifications  of . vol.  xiii.  51 

effect  on  the  British . vol.  xiii.  54 

cannonaded  by  the  British . vol.  xiii.  53 

Drucour,  Chevalier,  in  command  of  Louisburg . vol.  xii.  264 

defense  and  surrender . vol.  xii.  264 


516 


Ipdex 


Drummond’s  Pond . .  . . vol.  xii.  314 

Duane,  Mr.,  controversy  with  Gates . vol.  xiii.  411 

Duche,  Mr.,  chaplain  to  the  General  Congress . vol.  xii.  378 

officiates . vol.  xii.  378 

effect  of  prayer . vol.  xii.  379 

Ducoudray,  Monsieur . . . vol.  xiii.  390 

Duer,  William,  to  Schuyler . . . vol.  xiii.  470 

Dumas,  Count  Matthew,  accompanies  Washington . vol.  xiv.  375 

Washington’s  reception  by  the  people . vol.  xiv.  375 

on  the  French  camp . vol.  xiv.  533 

to  Washington,  with  pamphlet.... . vol.  xv.  347 

Dunbar,  Colonel . vol.  xii.  185 

his  terror . vol.  xii.  207 

Dundas,  Colonel,  accompanies  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  448 

commands  at  Gloucester  Point . vol.  xiv.  580 

foraging . vol.  xiv.  583 

capitulation  of  Yorktown . vol.  xiv.  603 

Dunmore,  Earl  of,  Governor  of  Virginia . vol.  xii.  354 

lingers  at  New  York . ..vol.  xii.  354 

haughty  bearing . vol.  xii.  354 

friendly  relations  with  Washington . vol.  xii.  356 

social  position . vol.  xii.  362 

dissolves  the  House  of  Burgessea . vol.  xii.  363 

seizes  the  military  munitions  of  Virginia . vol.  xii.  413 

timely  concession . ....vol.  xii.  413 

proclaims  martial  law. . vol.  xii.  539 

exercises  martial  law . vol.  xii.  568 

to  Howe,  proposing  a  servile  war. . vol.  xii.  581 

Washington’s  opinion  of . vol.  xii.  582 

Dunmore,  Lady,  ball  in  honor  of . vol.  xii.  363 

Duplessis,  Captain  Mauduit,  at  Fort  Mercer . vol.  xiv.  61 

attentions  to  Count  Donop . vol.  xiv.  62 

Duportail,  General,  urges  the  evacuation  of  Charleston . vol.  xiv.  309 

reconnoiters . vol.  xiv.  535 

Durham,  Bishop  of,  his  state  and  splendor . vol.  xii.  23 

Durkee,  Captain,  joins  Putnam . vol.  xii.  415 

E 

East  India  Company,  affected  by  the  tax  on  tea .  . ..vol.  xii.  361 

ships  large  quantities  to  the  colonies . vol.  xii.  361 

ships  sent  back  unladen . vol.  xii.  362 

Easton,  James,  in  the  expedition  against  Ticonderoga. . vol.  xii.  416 

Easton,  Colonel,  at  Ticonderoga . vol.  xii.  501 

Eaton,  General,  re-enforces  Greene . vol.  xiv.  498 

at  Guilford  Court-house . vol.  xiv.  498 

Eden,  William,  commissioner  from  Great  Britain . vol.  xiv.  162 

disposition  toward  America . vol.  xiv.  162 

Edmonson,  Captain,  in  command  at  Fort  Pitt .  ....vol.  xii.  388 

Elizabethtown,  Livingston’s  account  of . vol.  xiii.  117 

surprised  by  the  British . vol.  xiv.  26$ 


Ipdex 


517 

Elizabethtown  Point,  descent  of  British. . . vol.  xiv.  315 

Elliot,  Lieutenant-governor,  on  commission  concerning 

Andre . vol.  xiv.  395 

Ellsworth,  in  the  mission  to  France . vol.  xv.  387 

Emerson,  Rev.  William,  description  of  American  camp . vol.  xii.  471 

on  the  labors  of  the  army . vol.  xii.  481 

discipline  in  camp . vol.  xii.  481 

England  prepares  for  military  operations  in  America . vol.  xii.  158 

plan  of  campaign . vol.  xii.  166 

detains  vessels  bound  for  France . vol.  xv.  283 

impressment  of  American  seamen . vol.  xv.  283 

her  infatuation . vol.  xii.  403 

restrictive  policy . vol.  xii.  316 

English  claims  to  the  Ohio  Valley . vol.  xii.  67 

English  officers  and  Indian  squaws .  . vol.  xii.  180 

luxurious  habits . vol.  xii.  184 

their  baggage  and  camp  equipage . vol.  xii.  184 

bravery . vol.  xii.  200 

Enos,  Colonel,  leaves  Arnold  with  his  command . vol.  xii.  549 

Erskine,  General  Sir  William,  on  Long  Island . .vol.  xiii.  167 

urges  a  night  attack . vol.  xiii.  338 

in  the  expedition  against  Danbury . vol.  xiii.  394 

drives  back  the  Americans . vol.  xiii.  398 

Eutaw  Springs,  battle  of . vol.  xiv.  587 

Evans,  Rev.  Mr.,  anecdote  of . vol.  xiv.  582 

Everett,  Edward,  Washington  on  Dorchester  Heights.. . vol.  xiii.  56 

Ewing,  Colonel,  passage  of  British  ships  up  the  Hudson . vol.  xiii.  219 

Ewing,  General,  prevented  by  the  ice...  . . . . vol.  xiii.  323 

Eyre,  Lieutenant-colonel,  at  New  London . . . vol.  xiv.  565 

mortally  wounded . vol.  xiv.  565 

F 

Fairfax,  Bryant,  fox-hunting . . . vol.  xii.  309 

to  Washington  advising  a  petition . . . ..vol.  xii.  369 

to  Washington  on  the  resolutions . . . vol.  xii.  369 

to  Washington  in  reply .  vol.  xii.  370 

effect  of  the  battle  of  Lexington . vol.  xii.  413 

visits  Washington . vol.  xiv.  153 

to  Washington  on  his  courtesy . vol.  xiv.  153 

subsequent  history . (note)  vol.  xiv.  154 

Fairfax,  Colonel,  to  Washington  . . vol.  xii.  234 

Fairfax,  George  William,  fox-hunting . vol.  xii.  308 

departs  for  England . vol.  xii.  307 

in  England . vol.  xv.  62 

(note) . vol.  xv.  84 

Fairfax,  Thomas  Lord,  his  character  and  history . vol.  xii.  53 

his  style  of  living . vol.  xii.  56 

organizes  a  troop  of  horse . vol.  xii.  220 

calls  out  the  militia  to  defend  Winchester . . . vol.  xii.  221 

menaced  by  Indians . vol.  xii.  231 


518 


Ir?dex 


decides  to  remain . vol.  xii.  331 

occupations,  fox  hunting . vol.  xii.  233 

hunting . vol.  xii.  333 

his  last  days . vol.  xv.  61 

Fairfax,  William . vol.  xii.  55 

his  counsel  to  Washington . vol.  xii.  137 

Fairfield  destroyed  by  the  British . vol.  xiv.  210 

Fair  Haven  ravaged  by  the  British . vol.  xiv.  210 

Fairlie,  Major,  anecdote  . vol.  xv.  81 

Falls  of  Montmorency . vol.  xii.  285 

Falmouth  destroyed  by  the  British . vol.  xii.  532 

Faneuil  Hall,  British  troops  quartered  in . vol.  xii.  333 

meetings  at . vol.  xii.  875 

Fauchet,  M.,  succeeds  Genet . vol.  xii.  295 

intercepted  dispatch .  vol.  xv.  325 

exonerates  Randolph .  . vol.  xv.  328 

Faulkner,  Captain,  with  General  St.  Clair . vol.  xv.  210 

Fauquier,  Francis,  appointed  to  succeed  Dinwiddie . vol.  xii.  260 

Fauquier,  Lieutenant-governor,  dissolves  the  assembly . vol.  xii.  323 

Federalist,  The . vol.  xv.  126 

Federalists  spring  up . vol.  xv.  195 

Fellows,  General,  opposite  Saratoga  Ford . vol.  xiv.  31 

opens  fire  on  the  British . vol.  xiv.  35 

Felton,  Professor,  correction  of  error . (note)  vol.  xii.  474 

Fenno’s  Gazette,  Adams’s  papers . . vol.  xv.  2O4 

Ferguson,  Dr.  Adam,  secretary  to  commissioners  from  Great 

Britain . vol.  xiv.  162 

Ferguson,  Major  Patrick,  commands  expedition  to  Little 

Egg  Harbor . vol.  xiv.  220 

massacres  American  infantry . vol.  xiv.  221 

march  from  Savannah . vol.  xiv.  304 

described . vol.  xiv.  305 

on  violence  to  women . vol.  xiv.  308 

detached  to  North  Carolina . vol.  xiv.  425 

takes  post  at  Gilberttown . vol.  xiv.  428 

issues  an  address . vol.  xiv.  429 

retreats . vol.  xiv.  430 

takes  post  on  King’s  Mountain . vol.  xiv.  431 

defeated . vol.  xiv.  432 

Fermois,  Brigadier-general,  accompanies  Gates . vol.  xiii.  391 

Fersen,  Count,  to  hurry  on  the  French  troops . vol.  xiv.  577 

Fire-ships,  sent  to  destroy  Wolfe’s  fleet . vol.  xii.  287 

Fishburn,  Benjamin,  nomination  of . vol.  xv.  139 

Washington’s  reasons  for . vol.  xv.  139 

Fishing  in  Virginia . vol.  xii.  310 

Fishing  Creek,  defeat  of  Sumter . vol.  xiv.  349 

Fitzgerald,  Colonel,  at  Princeton . vol.  xiii.  322 

Flagg,  Major,  killed . vol.  xiv.  526 

Fleury,  Louis . vol.  xiii.  526 


Ipdex  519 

presented  with  a  horse  by  Congress . vol.  xiii.  538 

Col.,  at  Fort  Mifflin . vol.  xiv.  72 

promoted . vol.  xiv.  74 

inspector . vol.  xiv.  157 

at  the  storming  of  Stony  Point . .vol.  xiv.  245 

Forbes,  Brigadier-general,  to  reduce  Fort  Duquesne . . vol.  xii.  263 

detained  at  Philadelphia . vol.  xii.  270 

respect  for  Washington . vol.  xii.  278 

Forbes,  Gilbert,  conspirator . vol.  xiii.  107 

paid  for  arms . vol.  xiii.  108 

Foreign  officers,  applicants  for  admission  to  the  patriot  army. vol.  xiii.  389 

embarrassments  about . vol.  xiii.  390 

Forest,  Captain . vol.  xiii.  320 

Forster,  Captain,  besieges  the  Cedars. . vol.  xiii.  92 

captures  the  post . .= . vol.  xiii.  93 

Fort  Anne  captured . vol.  xiv.  414 

Fort  Chamblee  taken  by  Majors  Brown  and  Livingston . .  .vol.  xii.  543 

Fort  Clinton,  its  strength . vol.  xiii.  562 

attack  of  the  British . vol.  xiii.  567 

captured . vol.  xiii.  568 

Fort  Constitution . vol.  xiii.  97 

its  garrison . vol.  xiii.  97,  196 

commanded  by  West  Point . vol.  xiii.  97 

evacuated . vol.  xiii.  571 

Fort  Cumberland . . . vol.  xii.  150 

Fort  Defiance . vol.  xiii.  449 

Fort  Duquesne,  its  site . ..vol.  xii.  93 

completed . . . . . vol.  xii.  139 

Washington  advises  a  rapid  attack . . . vol.  xii.  185 

reports  of  scouts.... „ . vol.  xii.  190 

to  be  reduced .  .vol.  xii.  260 

abandoned  by  the  French . . . vol.  xii.  282 

name  changed  to  Fort  Pitt . vol.  xii.  282 

Fort  Edward . . vol.  xii.  228 

Fort  Frontenac  captured . vol.  xii.  269 

Fort  George  captured  by  Carleton . vol.  xiv.  414 

Fort  George  at  Coram  taken  . vol.  xiv.  424 

Fort  Griswold  taken  by  the  British . vol.  xiv.  566 

Fort  Independence . vol.  xiii.  98 

abandoned . vol,  xiii.  247 

Fort  Independence,  evacuated  by  the  Americans . . vol.  xiii.  571 

evacuated  by  the  British . vol.  xiv.  44 

Fort  Johnson . .vol.  xiii.  146 

Fort  Lafayette,  cannonaded . vol.  xiv.  239 

capitulates . vol.  xiv.  239 

Fort  Lee . vol.  xiii.  231 

menaced . * . vol.  xiii.  262 

preparations  to  abandon . . . vol.  xiii.  271 

retreat  from . . . . . . . vol.  xiii.  276 


520 


Ipdex 


Fort  Loudoun . 

Fort  Mercer . 

garrison  of . 

Washington  on  importance  of . 

attacked  by  Count  Donop . 

garrison  increased . 

taken  by  Cornwallis . . 

Fort  Mifflin . 

garrison  of . 

repulses  naval  attack . . 

garrison  increased . . 

attacked  by  Howe . 

evacuated . . 

Fort  Montgomery . 

its  garrison . 

the  chevaux-de-frise . 

stormed  by  the  British . 

Fort  Moultrie,  surrendered . 

Fort  Motte,  taken  by  Marion  and  Lee . 

Fort  Necessity . 

capitulation  of .  . 

Fort  Niagara,  besieged . 

surrenders . 

Fort  Ninety-Six,  siege  of . 

Fort  Pitt . . . 

blockaded  by  Indians . 

Fort  Schuyler,  invested  by  Colonel  St.  Leger . 

its  strength  and  garrison . 

summoned  to  surrender . 

news  of  relief . . . 

expedition  against  the  Onondagas . . 

Fort  Stanwix,  invested  by  Colonel  St.  Leger . 

Fort  Washington . , . 

chevaux-de-frise  sunk  near  by . 

strongly  garrisoned . 

cannonaded  at . 

menaced . 

question  of  evacuating . 

summoned  to  surrender . 

amount  of  garrison . 

British  attack . 

surrendered . 

number  of  prisoners . 

Fort  Watson  taken  by  Lee  and  Marion . 

Fort  William  Henry,  attacked  by  Montcalm . 

captured  and  destroyed . 

Forty  Fort,  Colonel  Zebulon  Butler,  in  command  of. 

Fox,  opinion  of  George  Johnstone . 

Fox-hunting  in  Virginia . 


. vol.  xii.  243 

. vol.  xiv.  45 

. vol.  xiv.  58 

. vol.  xiv.  59 

. . vol.  xiv.  59 

. . vol.  xiv.  72 

. vol.  xiv.  81 

. vol.  xiv.  45 

. . vol.  xiv.  58 

. vol.  xiv.  61 

. vol.  xiv.  72 

. . . vol.  xiv.  72 

. . vol.  xiv.  80 

. vol.  xiii.  97 

. vol.  xiii.  97 

. vol.  xiii.  564 

. vol.  xiii.  565 

. vol.  xiv.  310 

. vol.  xiv.  548 

_ vol.  xii.  136,  142 

. vol.  xii.  144 

. vol.  xii.  284 

. vol.  xii.  284 

. vol.  xiv.  545 

. vol.  xii.  283 

. vol.  xii.  315 

. vol.  xiii.  494 

. vol.  xiii.  494 

. vol.  xiii.  495 

. vol.  xiii.  495 

. vol.  xiv.  236 

. vol.  xiii.  494 

. vol.  xiii.  99 

. vol.  xiii.  156 

. vol.  xiii.  233 

. vol.  xiii.  235 

- .vol.  xiii.  246 

. vol.  xiii.  247 

. vol.  xiii.  263 

. vol.  xiii.  263 

. vol,  xiii.  264 

. vol.  xiii.  268 

(note)  vol.  xiii.  271 

. vol.  xiv.  548 

. vol.  xii.  254 

. vol.  xii.  255 

. vol.  xiv.  215 

. vol.  xiv.  163 

. vol.  xii.  65 


Ipdex 


521 


Foy,  Captain,  secretary  to  Earl  of  Dunmore . vol.  xii.  354 

France,  treaty  with  the  United  States. . vol.  xiv.  152 

ratified  by  Congress . vol.  xiv.  154 

rejoicing  in  United  States . . . vol.  xiv.  155 

declares  war  against  England . vol.  xv.  255 

scarcity  in .  . vol.  xv.  283 

violates  treaty  with  the  United  States . . . vol.  xv.  345 

indignities  toward  America . vol.  xv.  367 

threatened  war  with . vol.  xv.  373 

Francis,  Colonel . vol.  xiii.  451 

in  St.  Clair’s  retreat . vol.  xiii.  455 

falls . vol.  xiii.  455 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  arrives  at  Fredericktown . vol.  xii.  173 

opinion  of  Braddock  and  the  expedition  . vol.  xii.  173 

departs  for  Lancaster .  . . . vol.  xii.  174 

sends  conveyances  to  Braddock . vol.  xii.  183 

observation  on  Braddock’s  defeat . vol.  xii.  209 

in  London,  as  American  agent . vol.  xii.  322 

before  the  House  of  Commons . . . . vol.  xii.  329 

on  committee  to  confer  with  Washington . vol.  xii.  534 

on  committee  to  confer  with  Lord  Howe . vol.  xiii.  197 

acquaintance  with  Howe . vol.  xiii.  197 

to  Howe,  referring  to  past  acquaintance . vol.  xiii.  198 

and  Lord  Howe,  anecdote . vol.  xiii.  200 

exertions  for  aid  from  France . vol.  xiv.  611 

Fraser,  General,  in  the  invasion,  from  Canada . vol.  xiii.  434 

at  Three  Mile  Point . vol.  xiii.  441 

in  Ticonderoga . .....vol.  xiii.  452 

pursues  the  Americans . . . vol.  xiii.  452 

overtakes  and  attacks  St.  Clair’s  rear-guard . vol.  xiii.  455 

in  the  attack  on  Gates .  vol.  xiv.  24 

commands  the  advance . . vol.  xiv.  24 

shot  down . vol.  xiv.  26 

dying  request . vol.  xiv.  29 

death . vol.  xiv.  29 

burial  of . vol.  xiv.  30 

Frazer,  General,  at  Three  Rivers . vol.  xiii.  109 

captures  General  Thompson . vol.  xiii.  110 

Frazier,  John,  an  Indian  trader . vol.  xii.  74 

at  Turtle  Creek . vol.  xii.  92 

at  Venango . vol.  xii.  97 

Washington  with . vol.  xii.  Ill 

Fraunces,  Samuel,  steward  of  the  Presidential  household . vol.  xv.  35 

Freemason’s  Tavern,  Washington’s  headquarters . vol.  xiii.  356 

French  claim  the  Ohio  Valley . vol.  xii.  67 

prepare  for  hostilities . vol.  xii.  81 

launch  an  armed  vessel  on  Lake  Ontario . vol.  xii.  81 

influence  with  the  Indians  increasing . .....vol.  xii.  88 

deserters . vol.  xii.  93 


522 


Ir>dex 


Creek . vol.  xii.  93 

surprised  by  Washington . vol.  xii.  128 

relax  their  vigilance . vol.  xii.  150 

bravado . vol.  xii.  166,  191 

attack  Braddock’s  advance-guard . vol.  xii.  198 

defeat  Braddock . vol.  xii.  202 

force  engaged . vol.  xii.  135,  203 

attack  General  Johnson’s  camp . vol.  xii.  228 

menace  Forts  Ontario  and  Oswego .  . vol.  xii.  250 

fire  their  camp  and  retreat . vol.  xii.  267 

defeated  by  regulars  and  Indians . vol.  xii.  284 

during  the  war . vol.  xii.  318 

fleet,  arrival  of . vol.  xiv.  196 

off  Sandy  Hook . vol.  xiv.  198 

off  Point  Judith . vol.  xiv.  201 

return  to  Newport . vol.  xiv.  203 

scattered  by  a  storm  .  vol.  xiv.  202 

arrive  at  Rhode  Island . vol.  xiv.  327 

sail  from  Newport . vol.  xiv.  514 

officers,  their  camp . vol.  xiv.  533 

reception  of  Washington . vol.  xiv.  533 

troops  cross  to  Stony  Point . vol.  xiv.  562 

move  toward  Virginia . vol.  xiv.  563 

pass  through  Philadelphia . vol.  xiv.  568 

revolution . vol.  xv.  153 

Freneau,  Philip,  edits  the  “National  Gazette” . vol.  xv.  218 

and  Hamilton . vol.  xv.  235 

Frestel,  M.,  arrives  with  George  Washington  Lafayette . vol.  xv.  333 

departs  from  New  York . vol.  xv.  866 

Frothingham,  Richard,  Jr.,  history  of  the  siege  of  Bos¬ 
ton  . (note)  vol.  xii.  452 

Fry,  Colonel,  makes  a  treaty  with  the  Delawares,  Shawnees, 

and  Mingoes,  on  behalf  of  Virginia . vol.  xii.  87 

Fry,  Colonel  Joshua . vol.  xii.  116 

death  of . vol.  xii.  136 

G 

Gabrouski,  Count,  in  the  expedition  to  Fort  Montgomery _ vol.  xiii.  567 

his  death . vol.  xiii.  544-570 

Gadsden,  Colonel,  commands  Fort  Johnson . vol.  xiii.  147 

Gadsden,  Lieutenant-governor,  in  Charleston . vol.  xiv.  306 

Gage,  General  Thomas . vol.  xii.  195 

crosses  the  Monongahela  with  the  advance . vol.  xii.  195 

wounded . vol.  xii.  199 

to  take  command  of  the  siege  of  Fort  Niagara . vol.  xii.  284 

military  commander  of  Massachusetts . vol.  xii.  367 

history  of . vol.  xii.  867 

erroneous  opinion  of  Americans . vol.  xii.  368 

issues  a  proclamation . vol.  xii.  368 


Ipdex 


523 


perplexities . vol.  xii.  376 

at  a  loss  how  to  act . vol.  xii.  376 

on  the  feeling  in  Berkshire  County . vol.  xii.  377 

on  the  General  Congress . vol.  xii.  378 

military  measures . vol.  xii.  385 

orders  all  munitions  of  war  to  Boston . vol.  xii.  389 

fortifies  Boston  Neck . vol.  xii.  389 

to  Dartmouth . vol.  xii.  389 

issues  writs  for  a  general  election . vol.  xii.  397 

countermands  the  writs . vol.  xii.  397 

enters  into  explanations  with  the  Assembly  . . vol.  xii.  398 

critical  situation . vol.  xii.  398 

resolves  to  destroy  the  magazine  at  Concord . vol.  xii.  406 

astonishment . vol.  xii.  412 

issues  a  proclamation .  . vol.  xii.  431 

astonishment  at  the  fortifications  on  Breed’s  Hill . » .  .vol.  xii.  439 

determines  to  carry  the  works . .* . vol.  xii.  439 

calls  a  council  of  war .  vol.  xii.  439 

in  Boston . vol.  xii.  469 

correspondence  with  Washington  on  treatment  of  prison¬ 
ers . vol.  xii.  492 

connection  with  the  burning  of  Falmouth . vol.  xii.  534 

sails  for  England . vol.  xii.  534 

to  Lord  Dartmouth . vol.  xii.  535 

Gall,  Brigadier-general,  commands  redoubts . vol.  xiv.  24 

Gambier,  Admiral,  commands  the  British  fleet . vol.  xiv.  211 

Gamble,  Captain  . vol.  xiii.  371 

Gansevoort,  Colonel,  commands  Fort  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  494 

sends  for  succor . vol.  xiii.  502 

Garth,  Brigadier-general,  expedition  against  Connecticut. ..  .vol.  xiv.  241 

Gates,  Horatio,  before  Fort  Duquesne . vol.  xii.  176 

at  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xii.  413 

birth  . vol.  xii.  399 

education .  vol.  xii.  399 

serves  under  Cornwallis . vol.  xii.  399 

captain  of  an  independent  company  of  New  York..  . vol.  xii.  400 

in  Braddock’s  campaign . vol.  xii.  400 

with  General  Monckton  in  the  West  Indies . vol.  xii.  401 

at  the  capture  of  Martinico . vol.  xii.  401 

dispatched  to  London . vol.  xii.  401 

promotion . vol.  xii.  401 

sells  out  on  half-pay . vol.  xii.  401 

emigrates  to  Virginia . vol.  xii.  401 

purchases  an  estate . vol.  xii.  401 

appearance  and  manners . vol.  xii.  401 

receives  the  news  of  Lexington . vol.  xii.  418 

appointed  adjutant-general . vol.  xii.  428 

arrival  in  camp . vol.  xii.  479 

services . vol.  xii.  479 


524 


Ir>dex 


Gates,  Horatio,  estrangement  from  Washington  . . vol.  xii.  479 

sent  to  Congress  with  Canadian  dispatches . vol.  xiii.  80 

promoted . vol.  xiii.  80 

appointed  to  the  command  in  Canada . vol.  xiii.  102 

question  of  command  with  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  135 

arrives  at  Crown  Point . vol.  xiii.  135 

at  Ticonderoga . vol.  xiii.  136 

question  of  command,  settled . vol.  xiii.  137 

strengthens  his  works . . vol.  xiii.  260 

in  New  Jersey  with  re-enforcements . vol.  xiii.  298 

joins  Washington . vol.  xiii.  308 

declines  to  co-operate  with  Washington . vol.  xiii.  313 

criticism  of  Washington . vol.  xiii.  313 

question  of  command . vol.  xiii.  404 

to  Mr.  Lovell  on  the  command . vol.  xiii.  404 

petulant  letter  to  Washington . vol.  xiii.  407 

to  Mr.  Lovell,  charging  Washington  with  sectional  par¬ 
tialities.  .  vol.  xiii.  408 

sets  out  for  Philadelphia . vol.  xiii.  409 

before  Congress . vol.  xiii.  410 

ordered  to  withdraw . vol.  xiii.  411 

commands  at  Ticonderoga . vol.  xiii.  382 

disappointment . . . vol.  xiii.  382 

tendered  the  office  of  adjutant-general . vol.  xiii.  385 

rejects  the  proposal . vol.  xiii.  385 

committee  appointed  to  confer  with  him . vol.  xiii.  386 

to  command  at  Ticonderoga . . . vol.  xiii.  387 

arrives  at  Albany . vol.  xiii.  387 

on  the  alert  for  a  command .  vol.  xiii.  469 

urged  for  command  of  Northern  Department . vol.  xiii.  471 

appointed  by  Congress . vol.  xiii.  471 

to  Washington,  in  high  spirits . vol.  xiii.  519 

conduct  of  Schuyler. . . . . vol.  xiii.  519 

correspondence  with  Burgoyne . vol.  xiii.  520 

anecdote . (note)  vol.  xiii.  521 

at  Bemis’  Heights . vol.  xiii.  560 

provokes  Arnold . vol.  xiii.  565 

jealousy  of  Arnold . vol.  xiii.  567 

quarrel  with  Arnold . . . , . vol.  xiii.  567 

bides  his  time . vol.  xiv.  24 

begins  the  battle . vol.  xiv.  26 

plan  of  attack . .vol.  xiv.  26 

sends  to  recall  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  28 

in  Burgoyne’s  camp . vol.  xiv.  31 

measures  to  insure  a  surrender . vol.  xiv.  31 

terms  of  Burgoyne’s  capitulation . vol.  xiv.  40 

number  of  troops . vol.  xiv.  41 

humanity  and  forbearance . .vol.  xiv.  41 

meeting  with  Burgoyne . vol.  xiv.  41 


Ipdex 


525 


appearance  of  Ms  camp . vol.  xiv.  42 

elation  at  Ms  success . vol.  xiv.  64 

disrespect  to  WasMngton . vol.  xiv.  64 

indisposition  to  re-enforce  Washington . vol.  xiv.  76 

president  of  the  Board  of  War . vol.  xiv.  76 

in  the  ascendant . vol.  xiv.  88 

the  Conway  letter . vol.  xiv.  88 

perplexities . vol.  xiv.  88 

to  Washington  on  the  Conway  letter . vol.  xiv.  89 

projects  an  invasion  of  Canada . vol.  xiv.  109 

correspondence  with  Washington . vol.  xiv.  109 

at  Yorktown . vol.  xiv.  110 

on  Stark . „ . ..vol.  xiv.  110 

to  Washington  on  the  Conway  correspondence . vol.  xiv.  112 

to  Washington  concerning  Conway . vol.  xiv.  117 

to  Wilkinson  about  the  Conway  letter . vol.  xiv.  123 

reconciliation  with  Wilkinson . vol.  xiv.  125 

to  resume  command  of  the  Northern  Department . vol.  xiv.  148 

sent  to  Danbury . . vol.  xiv.  217 

to  command  the  Southern  Department . vol.  xiv.  327 

meeting  with  De  Kalb . vol.  xiv.  342 

march  to  Camden . vol.  xiv.  342 

amount  of  force  under . vol.  xiv.  343 

encounters  Cornwallis . vol.  xiv.  343 

council  of  war . vol.  xiv.  344 

battle  of  Camden . . . vol.  xiv.  344 

retreats . vol.  xiv.  346 

proceeds  toward  Charlotte . vol.  xiv.  347 

makes  a  stand  at  Hillsborough . vol.  xiv.  348 

to  Washington  on  his  defeat . vol.  xiv.  350 

altered  fortunes . . . vol.  xiv.  412 

collects  his  army  at  Hillsborough . vol.  xiv.  439 

advances  to  Charlotte . vol.  xiv.  439 

sympathizing  letter  from  Washington .  . vol.  xiv.  440 

change  of  feeling  toward  Greene . vol.  xiv.  441 

reception  by  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia . vol.  xiv.  442 

presides  over  committee  of  officers . vol.  xv.  24 

Genet,  Edmund  Charles,  minister  to  the  United  States . vol.  xv.  256 

lands  at  Charleston . vol.  xv.  256 

issues  commissions  for  privateers . vol.  xv.  257 

journey  to  Philadelphia . vol.  xv.  257 

described . vol.  xv.  258 

reception  at  Philadelphia . vol.  xv.  258 

presents  his  letter  of  credence . vol.  xv.  261 

diplomatic  speech . vol.  xv.  261 

takes  umbrage . vol.  xv.  264 

dissatisfaction  with  government . vol.  xv.  264 

demands  the  release  of  two  Americans . vol.  xv.  265 

case  of  the  “Little  Sarah” . vol.  xv.  267 


526 


li?dex 


at  New  York . vol.  xv.  278 

grievances  of . vol.  xv.  278 

complains  of  Jefferson . voL  xv.  279 

appeal  to  the  people . vol.  xv.  280 

to  Jefferson  on  enlistments . vol.  xv.  294 

his  recall . .  . vol.  xv.  294 

Gentlemen  Associators . vol.  xii.  239 

George  II.,  anecdote . vol.  xii.  134 

on  Lord  Howe . voL  xiii.  69 

Georgia  joins  the  league . vol.  xii.  422 

expedition  against..... . vol.  xiv.  224 

reduced  to  submission . vol.  xiv.  224 

Gerard,  Monsieur,  arrival  of . vol.  xiv.  196 

Germaine,  Lord  George,  plan  of  invasion . vol.  xiii.  433 

on  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis . vol.  xiv.  607 

Germantown,  Washington’s  camp  at . vol.  xiii.  467 

situation  of . vol.  xiv.  47 

battle  of  . .vol.  xiv.  50 

Wayne’s  attack . vol.  xiv.  51 

Greene’s  attack . vol.  xiv.  53 

panic  in  the  American  Army . vol.  xiv.  54 

loss  on  both  sides . vol.  xiv.  54 

Washington  on . vol.  xiv.  55 

Captain  Heth  on . vol.  xiv.  55 

Wayne  on . vol.  xiv.  55 

effect  of . . . voL  xiv.  56 

English  opinion  of . vol.  xiv.  58 

effect  in  France . . . . . . . vol.  xiv.  56 

effect  on  the  American  army . vol.  xiv.  56 

Gerry,  Elbridge,  anecdote  of  Warren..., . . . vol.  xii.  451 

suggested  to  accompany  General  Lee . . . vol.  xii.  489 

envoy  to  France . . . . .  .vol.  xv.  369 

Gibbon,  Lieutenant,  leads  forlorn  hope  at  Stony  Point . vol.  xiv.  246 

Giles,  Mr.,  moves  resolutions  concerning  Hamilton. . vol.  xv.  245 

speech  concerning  Washington’s  administration. . vol.  xv.  273 

Gimat,  Lieutenant-colonel,  to  lead  the  advance . vol.  xiv.  596 

Gist,  Christopher,  dispatched  to  explore  the  Ohio, . vol.  xii.  72 

threatened  by  traders . . . vol.  xii.  72 

visits  the  Shawnees  on  the  Scioto. . vol.  xii.  74 

his  reception  at  Muskingum . . . vol.  xii.  73 

arrives  at  Piqua . vol.  xii.  74 

forms  an  alliance  with  two  Miami  tribes . vol.  xii.  74 

is  deterred  from  descending  to  Great  Fails . vol.  xii.  75 

returns  across  Kentucky . voi.  xii.  75 

arrives  at  his  home  on  the  banks  of  the  Yadkin . voL  xii.  76 

his  home  has  been  desolated  by  Indians,  but  his  family 

are  saved . vol.  xii.  76 

rejoins  them . vol.  xii.  76 

proceeds  to  survey  the  lands  of  the  Ohio  Company . voL  xii.  78 


Irjdex 


527 


builds  3  fort  at  Shurtee’s  Creek . vol.  xii.  88 

commences  a' settlement  near  Laurel  Hill . vol.  xii.  89 

accompanies  Washington . vol.  xii.  92 

at  Murdering  Town . vol.  xii.  107 

crosses  the  Alleghany  River . vol.  xii.  110 

hands  and  feet  frozen . vol.  xii.  110 

joins  Washington . vol.  xii.  127 

sets  off  as  scout . vol.  xii.  192 

his  report . vol.  xii.  192 

to  Washington . vol.  xii.  227 

to  co-operate  with  Rodney . vol.  xiii.  525 

skirmishes . vol.  xiv.  91 

Gloucester  Point  fortified . vol.  xiv.  555 

Glover,  General,  with  Massachusetts  regiment . vol.  xiii.  183 

harasses  the  British . vol.  xiii.  232 

crosses  the  Delaware . vol.  xiii.  317 

to  re-enforce  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  463 

to  move  to  Red  Bank . vol.  xiv.  81 

Gooch,  Captain,  takes  a  message  to  Magaw . vol.  xiii.  268 

Gouvion,  Colonel,  reconnoiters  the  British  posts . vol.  xiv.  418 

Grafton,  Duke  of,  resigns . vol.  xii.  316 

Graham,  Sergeant,  employed  by  Governor  Try  on . vol.  xiii.  108 

Granby  captured  by  Lee . vol.  xiv.  549 

Grant,  General,  on  Long  Island . vol.  xiii.  167 

drives  in  the  picket . vol.  xiii.  174 

pushes  Stirling . vol.  xiii.  178 

warns  Rahl  of  the  attack . vol.  xiii.  318 

commands  expedition  against  St.  Lucia . vol.  xiv.  223 

commands  the  right  wing . vol.  xiv.  49 

Grant,  Major,  foolhardiness . . . vol.  xii.  278 

defeated . vol.  xii.  278 

misrepresentations  of  America . vol.  xii.  404 

his  braggart  speech . vol.  xii.  404 

GRAVES,  Admiral,  connection  with  the  burning  of  Falmouth.. vol.  xii.  531 

arrives  at  New  York . vol.  xiv.  332 

off  the  capes  of  Virginia . vol.  xiv.  574 

action  with  De  Grasse . vol.  xiv.  574 

bears  away  for  New  York . vol.  xiv.  575 

Gray’s  Elegy,  anecdote  of  Wolfe . vol.  xii.  292 

Graydon,  Alexander,  at  New  York . vol.  xiii.  141 

characterizes  Miffin . vol.  xiii.  141 

appearance  of  Maryland  troops . vol.  xiii.  141 

Pennsylvania  troops . vol.  xiii.  142 

Connecticut  light  horse . vol.  xiii.  143 

at  the  American  camp . vol.  xiii.  430 

account  of  Wayne . vol.  xiii.  431 

shabby  clothing  of  the  troops . vol.  xiii.  432 

Grayson,  Colonel,  reconnoitering . vol.  xiii.  183 

to  Lee  on  crossing  the  Hudson . vol.  xiii.  273 


528 


Ii)dex 


Great  Britain,  aggressive  measures  toward  the  United  States,  .vol.  xv.  295 

excitement  on  account  of . vol.  xv.  295 

treaty  with,  ratified . vol.  xv.  326,  338 

Great  Meadows . vol.  xii.  127,  138 

affair  of  the . vol.  xii.  139,  142 

Great  Tree,  at  the  seat  of  government . vol.  xv.  196 

Greene,  Colonel  Christopher,  commands  Fort  Mercer. . vol.  xiv.  58 

repulses  Count  Donop . vol.  xiv.  58 

receives  thanks  of  Congress . vol.  xiv.  61 

surprised  by  Delancey.. . vol.  xiv.  526 

death  and  history  of . vol.  xiv.  526 

Greene,  Nathaniel,  appointed  brigadier-general . vol.  xii.  428 

commanding  Rhode  Island  troops . vol.  xii.  471 

birth  and  parentage . vol.  xii.  471 

early  education . vol.  xii.  471 

military  taste . vol.  xii.  471 

addresses  Washington . vol.  xii.  472 

appearance  and  manner . vol.  xii.  472 

under  Major-general  Lee . vol.  xii.  482 

on  the  destruction  of  Falmouth . vol.  xii.  534 

respect  for  Franklin . vol.  xii.  536 

veneration  for  Washington . vol.  xii.  542 

sympathizes  with  Washington . vol.  xii.  585 

to  Henry  Ward  on  the  disposition  to  disband . vol.  xii.  586 

cheerfulness . vol.  xii.  586 

stationed  on  Long  Island . vol.  xiii.  76 

pushes  the  works . vol.  xiii.  100 

meets  Alexander  Hamilton . vol.  xiii.  114 

becomes  acquainted . vol.  xiii.  114 

at  Brooklyn . vol.  xiii.  165 

illness  . vol.  xiii.  165 

a  soldier’s  yearnings  for  home . vol.  xiii.  194 

relative  to  abandoning  New  York . vol.  xiii.  201 

on  the  retreat  from  New  York . (note)  vol.  xiii.  206 

to  Washington  offering  aid . . . vol.  xiii.  228 

promoted . vol.  xiii.  218 

attack  on  the  British  frigates . vol.  xiii.  236 

precautions  against  the  enemy . vol.  xiii.  247 

to  Washington  against  abandoning  Fort  Washington... .vol.  xiii.  248 

re-enforces  Fort  Washington . .vol.  xiii.  250 

re-enforces  Magaw . vol.  xiii.  263 

on  the  movements  of  Lee . . . vol.  xiii.  293 

ardor  for  the  attack  on  Trenton . vol.  xiii.  314 

harasses  the  enemy’s  advance . vol.  xiii.  333 

at  Morristown . vol.  xiii.  356 

dispatched  to  Philadelphia . vol.  xiii.  378 

to  repair  to  Red  Bank . vol.  xiv.  79 

inspects  the  Highland  forts . vol.  xiii.  413 

advances  to  the  relief . vol.  xiii.  537 


Ii)dex 


529 


Greene,  Nathaniel,  desperate  conflict . vol.  xiii.  537 

at  the  battle  of  Germantown . vol.  xiv.  52 

on  exploit  of  Lafayette . vol.  xiv.  84 

appointed  quartermaster-general . vol.  xiv.  145 

detached  to  flank  the  enemy . vol.  xiv.  177 

repulses  the  enemy . . . vol.  xiv.  181 

detached  to  the  expedition  against  Rhode  Island . vol.  xiv.  199 

on  board  of  the  French  fleet . vol.  xiv.  199 

interview  with  D’Estaing . vol.  xiv.  203 

in  command  at  Short  Hills . ......... . vol.  xiv.  322 

fight  at  Springfield . . . . . vol.  xiv.  323 

difficulty  with  Congress . vol.  xiv.  335 

resignation  accepted . vol.  xiv.  335 

presides  over  board  of  general  officers . vol.  xiv.  390 

meets  the  British  commissioners . vol.  xiv.  395 

ordered  to  West  Point . vol.  xiv.  409 

appointed  to  command  the  Southern  army . vol.  xiv.  413 

arrives  at  Charlotte . vol.  xiv.  440 

delicacy  to  Gates . vol.  xiv.  441 

to  Washington  on  Gates . vol.  xiv.  441 

number  of  troops . vol.  xiv.  442 

military  aphorisms . vol.  xiv.  442 

state  of  the  country . vol.  xiv.  442 

reorganizes  the  army .  . vol.  xiv.  444 

at  Cheraw  Hills . vol.  xiv.  445 

to  Washington  on  the  state  of  the  army . . . ..vol.  xiv.  446 

to  Washington  on  the  battle  of  the  Cowpens.. . vol.  xiv.  480 

hastens  to  Morgan’s  camp . vol.  xiv.  480 

to  Huger  on  Cornwallis’s  movements... . vol.  xiv.  481 

his  Fabian  policy . vol  xiv.  481 

disposition  of  his  troops . vol.  xiv.  482 

Mrs.  Steele,  anecdote . vol.  xiv.  486 

at  Guilford  Court-house . vol.  xiv.  487 

summons  a  qouncil  of  war . vol.  xiv.  487 

amount  of  force . vol.  xiv.  487 

pushes  for  the  Dan . vol.  xiv.  488 

masterly  retreat . vol.  xiv.  489 

crosses  the  Dan . vol.  xiv.  489 

to  Jefferson  on  his  retreat . vol.  xiv.  490 

to  Washington  on  the  same . vol.  xiv.  490 

recrosses  the  Dan . . . vol.  xiv.  493 

at  Troublesome  Creek . vol.  xiv.  496 

re-enforced . vol.  xiv.  496 

number  of  troops . vol.  xiv.  498 

at  Guilford . vol.  xiv.  498 

disposition  of  troops . vol.  xiv.  499 

battle  of  Guilford  Court-house . vol.  xiv.  500 

orders  a  retreat . vol.  xiv.  502 

to  Washington  on  Cornwallis . vol.  xiv.  502 


Vol.  XV. — *  *  *  23 


530 


Ir^dex 


pursues  Cornwallis . vol.  xiv.  506 

at  Deep  River . vol.  xiv.  506 

reduction  of  force . vol.  xiv.  507 

change  of  plans  to  Washington . vol.  xiv.  507 

to  Lafayette  on  Cornwallis . vol.  xiv.  508 

discharges  his  militia . vol.  xiv.  508 

sets  out  for  Camden . vol.  xiv.  508 

at  Hobkirk’s  Hill . vol.  xiv.  548 

retreats  before  Lord  Rawdon . vol.  xiv.  548 

on  the  Wateree . vol.  xiv.  549 

gloomy  prospects . vol.  xiv.  549 

before  the  fortress  of  Ninety-Six . vol.  xiv.  550 

retreats  across  the  Saluda . vol.  xiv.  550 

to  Washington  on  cavalry . .vol.  xiv.  551 

pursued  by  Rawdon . vol.  xiv.  551 

on  the  Wateree . vol.  xiv.  551 

to  Sumter  urging  active  measures . vol.  xiv.  552 

from  Washington  concerning  re-enforcements. . vol.  xiv.  557 

on  the  hills  of  Santee  . vol.  xiv.  584 

marches  against  Colonel  Stuart . vol.  xiv.  584 

battle  of  Eutaw  Springs . vol.  xiv.  585 

resumes  his  position . vol.  xiv.  591 

follows  Stuart . vol.  xiv.  591 

to  Washington  on  the  battle  of  Eutaw  Springs . vol.  xiv.  591 

Washington  in  the  dance . . vol.  xv.  78 

death  of . vol.  xv.  84 

Green  Mountain  Boys . vol.  xii.  255 

fresh  corps  to  be  raised . vol.  xii.  499 

elect  Warner  lieutenant-colonel . vol.  xii.  505 

arrival  at  camp . vol.  xii.  519 

Greenway  Court . vol.  xii.  63 

menaced  by  Indians . vol.  xii.  232 

Gregg,  Colonel,  in  quest  of  Indians . vol.  xii.  232 

Grenville,  George,  advises  American  taxation....  . vol.  xii.  320 

dismissed  from  the  Cabinet . vol.  xii.  328 

explanation  of  British  measures . .  .vol.  xv.  297 

Grey,  Major-general  Sir  Charles,  sent  to  surprise  Wayne. . . .  .vol.  xiii.  542 

presses  the  American  troops . vol.  xiv.  53 

on  a  ravaging  expedition . vol.  xiv.  210 

surprises  Baylor’s  dragoons . vol.  xiv.  210 

raised  to  the  peerage . vol.  xiv.  222 

Gridley,  Captain  Samuel,  commands  artillery . vol.  xii.  436 

Gridley,  Colonel,  commanding  artillery . vol.  xii.  432 

reconnoiters  Charlestown  Neck . vol.  xii.  434 

accompanies  detachment  for  Bunker’s  Hill . vol.  xii.  437 

plans  fortifications . vol.  xii.  437 

superintends  fortification  of  Dorchester  Heights . vol.  xiii.  55 

Griffin,  Colonel,  co-operates  with  Washington . vol.  xiii.  315 

decoys  Donop. .  . . vol.  xiii.  330 


Ir?dex 


531 


Griffith,  Colonel,  joins  Washington  at  New  York . vol.  xiii.  195 

Guilford  Court-house,  battle  of . vol.  xiv.  500 

after  the  battle  . vol.  xiv.  501 

loss  on  both  sides . vol.  xiv.  502 


11 

Hackensack,  American  army  at . vol.  xiii.  273 

Haff,  James,  confession . vol.  xiii.  112 

Hale,  Colonel,  gives  way . vol.  xiii.  456 

death . vol.  xiii.  456 

Hale,  Nathan,  sketch  of . . . (note)  vol.  xiv.  387 

Half  Town,  at  the  seat  of  government . vol.  xv.  196 

Halifax  intrenched  by  Kosciuszko . vol.  xiii.  573 

Halket,  Sir  Peter  .. . . . vol.  xii.  184 

Hall,  Colonel,  at  McGowan’s  Ford .  vol.  xiv.  418 

Hamilton,  Brigadier-general,  in  the  invasion  from  Canada... vol.  xiii.  443 

Hamilton,  Governor., . vol.  xii.  71 

command  of  Burgoyne’s  camp . vol.  xiv.  25 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  commands  a  provincial  company . vol.  xiii.  114 

birth  and  early  days . vol.  xiii.  116 

education . vol.  xiii.  116 

addresses  a  public  meeting . vol.  xiii.  117 

captain  of  artillery . . . vol.  xiii.  117 

acquaintance  with  General  Greene . vol.  xiii.  118 

brings  up  the  rear  in  the  retreat . vol.  xiii.  186 

interview  with  Washington . vol.  xiii.  209 

at  the  Raritan . .vol.  xiii.  288 

on  the  situation  of  Cornwallis . vol.  xiii.  352 

rapid  rise . vol.  xiii.  432 

dispatched  to  Congress . vol.  xiii.  481 

mission  to  Gates . vol.  xiv.  65,  74 

concludes  his  mission . vol.  xiv.  75 

and  Putnam’s  hobby-horse . vol.  xiv.  75 

emphatical  letter  to  Putnam .  . . vol.  xiv.  76 

on  the  reluctance  of  the  troops . vol.  xiv.  76 

reasons  against  the  abduction  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton . vol.  xiv.  147 

on  the  decision  of  council  of  war . vol.  xiv.  172 

boards  the  French  fleet . *. ...vol.  xiv.  198 

to  Washington  on  the  enemy . vol.  xiv.  300 

breakfasts  with  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  376 

learns  of  Arnold’s  treason . vol.  xiv.  378 

sent  in  pursuit  of  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  379 

return  to  Washington  with  letters . vol.  xiv.  381 

describes  interview  between  Washington  and  Mrs. 

Arnold . vol.  xiv.  383 

account  of  Andre’s  conduct . vol.  xiv.  385 

at  dinner  with  Chastellux  .. . vol.  xiv.  420 

eulogium  of  Washington . vol.  xiv.  464 

misunderstanding  with  Washington . vol.  xiv.  465 


532 


ipdex 


dislike  of  the  office  of  aid-de-camp . vol.  xiv.  467 

ambitious  for  distinction . vol.  xiv.  467 

reconciliation  with  Washington . vol.  xiv.  469 

leads  the  advance  on  the  redoubts . vol.  xiv.  596 

enters  the  redoubts . vol.  xiv.  596 

at  Washington’s  inauguration . vol.  xv.  116 

and  the  new  constitution . ..vol.  xv.  134 

on  presidential  etiquette . vol.  xv.  130 

on  the  French  Revolution . vol.  xv.  154 

report  on  the  national  debt . vol.  xv.  168 

plan  for  its  liquidation . vol.  xv.  170 

opposition  to . vol.  xv.  170 

monarchial  views . vol.  xv.  174 

conversation  with  Jefferson . vol.  xv.  176 

urges  a  national  bank . vol.  xv.  193 

on  the  British  Constitution .  vol.  xv.  193 

on  monarchy  and  stock  gambling .  vol.  xv.  230 

urges  Washington  to  serve  another  term . vol.  xv.  333 

attack  on  Jefferson . vol.  xv.  236 

to  Washington  on  dissension  with  Jefferson . vol.  xv.  238 

on  the  French  Revolution  . vol.  xv.  259 

concerning  French  prizes . vol.  xv.  265 

case  of  the  “Little  Sarah” . vol.  xv.  272 

intention  to  resign . vol.  xv.  275 

on  war  with  Great  Britain . vol.  xv.  298 

recommends  Jay . vol.  xv.  299 

plan  for  the  redemption  of  the  public  debt . vol.  xv.  313 

sends  in  his  resignation . vol.  xv.  314 

to  Washington  on  his  resignation . vol.  xv.  314 

on  Rufus  King . vol.  xv.  341 

to  Washington,  his  farewell  address . vol.  xv.  350 

to  Washington  on  threatened  war  with  France . vol.  xv.  374 

to  Washington  on  his  apppintment  as  commander-in¬ 
chief  . , . vol.  xv.  376 

second  in  command . vol.  xv.  377 

Hammond,  Mr.,  British  minister,  and  Genet . vol.  xv.  257 

Hampton,  Colonel . vol.  xiii.  540 

Hampton,  Colonel  Henry,  to  watch  Orangeburg . vol.  xiv.  551 

Hampton,  Colonel  Wade,  at  Dorchester . vol.  xiv.  551 

before  Charleston . . . vol.  xiv.  552 

at  Eutaw  Springs . vol.  xiv.  588 

rallies  the  cavalry . vol.  xiv.  588 

Hamtranck,  Major,  sent  after  deserters . vol.  xv.  208 

Hancock,  John,  president  of  the  Provincial  Congress . vol.  xii.  396 

apprised  of  the  movements  of  troops . vol.  xii.  405 

president  of  Congress . vol.  xii.  422 

ambition  to  be  commander-in-chief . vol.  xii.  424 

mortification . vol.  xii.  426 

excepted  from  proffered  pardon . vol.  xii.  431 


Ipdex 


533 


invites  Washington  to  be  his  guest . . . . vol.  xiii.  87 

ordering  Gates  to  the  command  of  the  Northern  Depart- 

ment . vol.  xiii.  385 

invitation  to  Washington . vol.  xv.  157 

observance  of  etiquette . . . vol.  xv.  157 

reception  of  Washington,  point  of  etiquette . vol.  xv.  158 

waives  the  point . vol.  xv.  160 

visit  to  Washington . vol.  xv.  160 

Hand,  Colonel,  retreats  before  the  enemy  at  Gravesend . vol.  xiii.  167 

prepared  for  defense . vol.  xiii.  168 

watches  the  central  road . vol.  xiii.  168 

holds  the  bridge  at  Throg’s  Neck.. . vol.  xiii.  227 

intercepts  the  Hessians . vol.  xiii.  346 

society  of  the  Cincinnati . vol.  xv.  36 

Hanging  Hock  successfully  attacked  by  Sumter . vol.  xiv.  341 

Harcourt,  Colonel,  joins  Howe.... . vol.  xiii.  235 

captures  General  Lee . vol.  xiii.  303 

Hardin,  Colonel,  scouring  the  country . vol.  xiv.  584 

decoyed  into  an  ambush . vol.  xv.  189 

battle  with  Indians . . . vol.  xv.  189 

HARMER,  Brigadier-general,  leads  an  expedition  against  the 

Indians . vol.  xv.  189 

destroys  Miami  village., . vol.  xv.  189 

expedition  reported  to  Congress...  . vol.  xv.  191 

Harnage,  Major . vol.  xiii.  556 

Harrison,  Benjamin,  delegated  to  the  General  Congress . vol.  xii.  373 

on  committee  to  confer  with  Washington . vol.  xii.  535 

on  the  bombardment  of  Boston . vol.  xii.  536 

member  of  the  board  of  war  and  ordnance . vol.  xiii.  89 

Harrison,  Colonel  Robert  H.,  secretary  to  Washington . vol.  xiii.  356 

referee  for  exchange  of  prisoners.... . vol.  xiii.  365 

to  Congress  predicting  the  enemy’s  repulse . vol.  xiii.  532 

appointment  of . vol.  xv.  145 

Hartshorn,  Ensign,  decoyed  into  an  ambush . . . vol.  xv.  189 

Haslet,  Colonel  John,  joins  Lord  Stirling’s  brigade . vol.  xv.  171 

statement  of . vol.  xv.  177 

attempt  to  take  Rogers  the  renegade . vol.  xv.  233 

publicly  thanked . vol.  xv.  233 

detached  to  Chatterton’s  Hill . vol.  xv,  237 

killed  at  Princeton . vol.  xv.  345 

Haviland,  Colonel,  crosses  Lake  Champlain . vol.  xii.  299 

Hay,  Colonel,  to  Washington,  on  the  protection  of  the  High¬ 
lands . vol.  xiii.  134 

Hazard,  postmaster,  to  Gates  concerning  Lee . vol.  xiii.  255 

on  the  Hessians . (note)  vol.  xiii.  354 

Hazelwood,  Commodore,  in  the  Delaware . vol.  xiv.  58 

receives  thanks  of  Congress . vol.  xiv.  62 

Heath,  General,  takes  command  of  the  Minute  Men . vol.  xii.  410 

brings  them  to  a  halt . vol.  xii.  411 


534 


Ipdex 


appointed  Brigadier-general . vol.  xii.  428 

to  fortify  Lechmere  Point . vol.  xii.  566 

dispatched  to  New  Nork . vol.  xiii.  73 

on  the  discipline  of  Mifflin’s  troops . vol.  xiii.  164 

preparations  to  receive  the  enemy . vol.  xiii.  165 

retreat  from  Long  Island . vol.  xiii.  186 

to  keep  guard  on  New  York  Island . vol.  xiii.  202 

landing  of  the  British  at  Throg’s  Neck . vol.  xiii.  226 

skillful  distribution  of  his  troops . vol.  xiii.  226 

appearance  of  the  enemy  at  White  Plains . ...vol.  xiii.  239 

the  two  armies  at  White  Plains . vol.  xiii.  241 

American  defenses . vol.  xiii.  241 

to  secure  the  Highlands . vol.  xiii.  242 

in  command  at  the  Highlands . vol.  xiii.  250 

described . vol.  xiii.  253 

refuses  to  obey  Lee . vol.  xiii.  280 

to  Washington  for  instructions . vol.  xiii.  281 

refuses  to  order  troops  for  Lee . vol.  xiii.  291 

military  punctilio . vol.  xiii.  291 

on  the  conduct  of  Lee . vol.  xiii.  292 

to  march  into  the  Jerseys  . vol.  xiii.  350 

advances  toward  New  York . vol.  xiii.  350 

pompous  summons  to  Fort  Independence . . . vol.  xiii.  352 

rebuked  by  Washington . vol.  xiii.  352 

stationed  in  the  Highlands . vol.  xiv.  261 

charmed  with  the  French  officers . vol.  xiv.  330 

commands  West  Point . vol.  xiv.  560 

Henderson,  Lieutenant-colonel,  joins  Greene . ....vol.  xiv.  585 

at  Eutaw  Springs . vol.  xiv.  585 

severely  wounded . vol.  xiv.  587 

Hendrick,  Mohawk  warrior,  slain . vol.  xii.  230 

Henfield,  Gideon,  case  of . vol.  xv.  272 

Henry,  Patrick,  introduces  his  resolutions . vol.  xii.  322 

speech  on  his  resolutions . vol.  xii.  322 

anecdote .  vol.  xii.  322 

delegate  to  the  General  Congress . vol.  xii.  373 

sets  out  for  Philadelphia . vol.  xii.  377 

sectional  distinctions . vol.  xii.  377 

speech  at  the  opening  of  the  General  Congress . vol.  xii.  381 

opinion  of  Washington . vol.  xii.  385 

speech  before  the  convention  at  Richmond . vol.  xii.  403 

letter  to,  against  Washington . vol.  xiv.  106 

declines  appointment . vol.  xv.  388 

Herkimer,  General,  commands  in  Tryon  County . vol.  xiii.  442 

at  Oriskany . vol.  xiii.  496 

dispute  with  his  officers . vol.  xiii.  496 

attacked  by  the  enemy . vol.  xiii.  497 

wounded . vol.  xiii.  498 

death . vol.  xiii.  499 


Ipdex 


536 


Herrick,  Colonel,  at  Bennington . vol.  xiii.  511 

Hertburn,  William  de,  progenitor  of  the  Washingtons . vol.  xii.  27 

Hessians,  hired  by  England . vol.  xiii.  78 

in  Canada . vol.  xiii.  78 

arrive  in  America . vol.  xiii.  155 

sanguinary  fury . vol.  xiii.  177 

re-enforce  Howe . vol.  xiii.  284 

American  opinion  of . vol.  xiii.  310 

stationed  at  Trenton . vol.  xiii.  310 

captured  by  Washington . vol.  xiii.  323 

treatment . vol.  xiii.  329 

plunder  both  sides . vol.  xiii.  354 

described  by  Hazard . (note)  vol.  xiii.  354 

tactics . vol.  xiii.  511 

Heth,  Captain,  on  the  battle  of  Germantown . vol.  xiv.  54 

to  Colonel  Lamb,  on  the  same . vol.  xiv.  54 

Hickey,  Thomas,  Washington’s  body  guard . vol.  xiii.  108 

convicted  and  hanged . . . vol.  xiii.  108 

Highlands,  state  of  defenses . vol.  xiii.  502 

Hill,  Lieutenant-colonel,  attacks  Colonel  Long . vol.  xiii.  455 

Hinman,  Colonel,  to  re-enforce  Ticonderoga . vol.  xii.  497 

arrives  at  Ticonderoga . . vol.  xii.  498 

difficulties  with  Arnold . vol.  xii.  499 

in  command  of  Ticonderoga . vol.  xii.  502 

Hitchcock,  Colonel,  re-enforces  Cadwalader . vol.  xiii.  307 

Hobkirk’s  Hill,  affair  at . . vol.  xv.  358 

Holbourne,  Admiral,  demonstration  against  Louisburg . vol.  xii.  255 

Holmes,  Rear-admiral . vol.  xii.  290,  291 

Hood,  Commodore,  on  the  troubles  in  Boston . vol.  xii.  332 

to  Grenville  on  the  sedition . vol.  xii.  341 

Hotham,  Commodore,  convoys  expedition  against  St.  Lucia.. vol.  xiv.  223 

Houdon’s  bust  of  Washington . (appendix)  vol.  xv.  412 

takes  a  model  of  Washington . — vol.  xv.  72 

House  of  Representatives,  on  the  public  credit . vol.  xv.  143 

opposition  to  Washington . vol.  xv.  335 

make  provision  for  the  treaty . vol.  xv.  338 

reply  to  Washington’s  last  address . vol.  xv.  351 

Howard,  Colonel,  under  Morgan . vol.  xiv.  445 

Howard,  Major,  retreating . vol.  xiv.  179 

at  the  battle  of  the  Cowpens . vol.  xiv.  476 

Howe,  Lord,  in  the  expedition  against  Ticonderoga . vol.  xii.  266 

dies  while  leading  the  van . vol.  xii.  266 

Howe,  Admiral  Lord,  fondness  for  business . vol.  xiii.  69 

character  and  services . vol.  xiii.  69 

arrives  at  New  York .  vol.  xiii.  125 

proclamation  of . vol.  xiii.  126 

comes  as  a  mediator . vol.  xiii.  127 

sends  flag  of  truce . vol.  xiii.  127 

sends  Gen.  Sullivan  on  parole  to  Congress  with  overtures,  vol.  xiii.  196 


536 


Ir>dex' 


plan  of  compromise . .vol.  xiii.  196 

to  Franklin  on  reunion  of  Great  Britain  and  America.,  .vol.  xiii.  198 

conference  with  commissioners . vol.  xiii.  199 

and  Franklin,  anecdote . vol.  xiii.  199 

conflagration  in  New  York . vol.  xiii.  213 

issues  proclamation . vol.  xiii.  289 

to  Washington  on  the  treatment  of  prisoners . vol.  xiii.  371 

gets  his  fleet  into  the  Delaware . vol.  xiv.  46 

at  Sandy  Hook . vol.  xiv.  186 

brings  his  fleet  to  the  relief  of  R.  I . ..vol.  xiv.  201 

maneuvers  of  the  fleets . vol.  xiv.  202 

bears  away  to  New  York. . . : . vol.  xiv.  202 

return  to  England . vol.  xiv.  211 

Howe,  General  Robert,  at  Savannah . vol.  xiv.  224 

defeated  by  the  British . vol.  xiv.  224 

Howe,  Major-general,  quells  mutiny . vol.  xiv.  460 

dispatched  to  quell  a  mutiny . vol.  xv.  42 

Howe,  Sir  William,  in  the  expedition  against  Quebec . vol.  xii.  286 

ascends  the  Heights  of  Abraham . vol.  xii.  293 

arrives  at  Boston . vol.  xii.  430 

lands  with  troops  at  Moulton’s  Point . vol.  xii.  438 

reconnoiters  the  American  works . vol.  xii.  441 

sends  for  re-enforcements . vol.  xii.  441 

prepares  for  the  assault . vol.  xii.  365 

advances  against  the  fence . vol.  xii.  365 

troops  thrown  into  confusion . vol.  xii.  366 

makes  a  feint  of  attacking  the  fence . vol.  xii.  448 

wounded . vol.  xii.  448 

description  of . vol.  xii.  466 

reproached  by  Congress . vol.  xii.  467 

intrenched. . vol.  xii.  468 

measures  taken . vol.  xii.  538 

issues  proclamation . vol.  xii.  538 

to  Washington  concerning  Ethan  Allen . vol.  xii.  563 

measures  to  repress  excesses . vol.  xiii.  48 

perplexed . vol.  xiii.  59 

declines  attacking  Dorchester  Heights . vol.  xiii.  59 

retreat  from  Boston . vol.  xiii.  65 

steers  for  Halifax . vol.  xiii.  67 

indolent  disposition . vol.  xiii.  68 

arrives  at  New  York . vol.  xiii.  113 

to  his  government  on  the  state  of  affairs . vol.  xiii.  113 

plans  for  the  battle  of  Long  Island . vol.  xiii.  172 

accompanies  division  from  Flatlands . vol.  xiii.  123 

at  Throg’s  Neck . vol.  xiii.  233 

lands  on  Pell’s  Point . vol.  xiii.  233 

at  New  Rochelle . vol.  xiii.  234 

postpones  the  assault . vol.  xiii.  242 

plan  of  attack  on  Fort  Washington . vol.  xiii.  262 


Ir?dex 


537 


the  attack . . . vol.  xiii.  263 

conduct  of  the  seamen . vol.  xiii.  273 

hears  of  the  capture  of  the  Hessians . vol.  xiii.  336 

on  the  march . vol.  xiii.  339 

contrasted  with  Washington . vol.  xiii.  361 

to  Washington  concerning  Lee . vol.  xiii.  365 

to  Lord  Germaine,  relative  to  Lee . vol.  xiii.  365 

prepares  to  attack  Peekskill . vol.  xiii.  379 

crosses  to  the  Jerseys . vol.  xiii.  420 

sallies  from  Brunswick .  vol.  xiii.  420 

endeavors  to  draw  Washington  out . vol.  xiii.  423 

another  attempt . vol.  xiii.  425 

evacuates  the  Jerseys . vol.  xiii.  426 

leaves  New  York . vol.  xiii.  465 

enters  the  Delaware . vol.  xiii.  467 

sails  out  of  the  capes . vol.  xiii.  467 

lands  from  the  fleet . vol.  xiii.  523 

issues  proclamation . vol.  xiii.  525 

at  Elkton . vol.  xiii.  528 

battle  of  Brandywine . vol.  xiii.  531 

neglects  to  pursue  his  advantage . vol.  xiii.  539 

pushes  for  Philadelphia . vol.  xiii.  543 

halts  at  Germantown . vol.  xiii.  545 

detaches  a  force  against  Billingsport . vol.  xiv.  47 

headquarters . vol.  xiv.  48 

constructing  redoubts  on  Province  Island . vol.  xiv.  71 

attacks  Fort  Mifflin . vol.  xiv.  71 

expedition  against  Fort  Mercer . vol.  xiv.  81 

preparing  to  drive  Washington  beyond  the  mountains. ..vol.  xiv.  89 

meditates  attack  on  the  American  camp . vol.  xiv.  89 

maneuvers . vol.  xiv.  90 

retires  to  Philadelphia . , . vol.  xiv.  92 

excesses  of  foraging  parties .  vol.  xiv.  147 

resignation  accepted . vol.  xiv.  155 

the  Mischianza . vol.  xiv.  155 

Hubbard,  Colonel,  at  Bennington . vol.  xiii.  542 

Huddy,  Captain  Joseph,  murdered  in  revenge  for  Philip 

White . vol.  xiv.  614 

Hudson  River,  defenses  of . vol.  xiii.  42 

strategical  position . vol.  xiii.  122 

defenses . vol.  xiii.  208 

British  ships  move  up . vol.  xiii.  219 

new  obstructions . ; . vol.  xiii.  219 

opened  for  the  British . vol.  xiii.  571 

HUGER,  Brigadier-general,  at  Monk’s  Corner . vol.  xiv.  306 

surprised  by  Tarleton . vol.  xiv.  306 

in  command  on  the  Pedee . vol.  xiv.  481 

at  Guilford  Court-house . vol.  xiv.  485,  499 

Hughes,  Colonel,  ordered  to  impress  water-craft.. . vol.  xiii.  184 


538 


Iqdex 


Humphreys,  Colonel,  on  preparation  for  attacking  the  British 

posts . . . vol.  xiv.  419 

accompanies  Washington  to  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xiv.  572 

to  Washington  on  the  troubles  in  Massachusetts . vol.  xv.  93 

meets  Washington . vol.  xv.  98 

inauguration  of  Washington . vol.  xv.  114 

Humphreys,  Colonel,  Washington’s  first  levee,  anecdote . vol.  xv.  131 

Huntingdon,  Colonel,  hangs  on  the  enemy’s  rear . vol.  xiii.  399 

Huntington,  General,  to  join  Vamum . vol.  xiv.  81 

on  the  destitution  of  the  troops . vol.  xiv.  95 

society  of  the  Cincinnati . vol.  xiv.  174 

Huntington,  Major . vol.  xiii.  291 

I 

Indian  council  at  Logstown . vol.  xii.  90,  93 

Indian  traders,  described . vol.  xii.  68 

Indian  war  dance . vol.  xii.  60 

Indian  warfare . . . vol.  xiv.  213 

Indians,  leave  Braddock . . . vol.  xii.  182 

outrages  of . vol.  xii.  231 

troubles  with . vol.  xii.  346 

visit  Washington  at  Cambridge . vol.  xii.  509 

with  Burgoyne .  . vol.  xiii.  486 

murder  Miss  McCrea . vol.  xiii.  488 

desert  Burgoyne  . vol.  xiii.  490 

described  by  a  Hessian . vol.  xiii.  507 

oblige  St.  Leger  to  decamp . vol.  xiii.  516 

difficulties  with . vol.  xv.  188 

hostilities  west  of  the  Ohio . vol.  xv.  311 

treaty  with  Wayne . . . vol.  xv.  334 

Innes,  Colonel,  at  Winchester . vol.  xii.  136 

concerning  the  Indians . vol.  xii.  182 

Iroquois,  stand  aloof . vol.  xii.  268 

Iredell,  James,  judge  of  supreme  court . vol.  xv.  145 

Irvine,  Colonel,  taken  prisoner . vol.  xiii.  106 

Irvine,  James,  Brigadier-general,  taken  prisoner . vol.  xiv.  90 

J 

JACK,  Captain,  commands  hunters . vol.  xii.  171 

at  Little  Meadows .  vol.  xii.  186 

departs  with  his  band . vol.  xii.  187 

Jackson,  Andrew . . . vol.  xv.  353 

Jackson,  Major,  accompanies  Washington . vol.  xv.  156 

Washington’s  reception  at  Boston . vol.  xv.  156 

Jacobin  Club . vol.  xv.  165 

Jacobs,  Captain,  Indian  sachem . vol.  xii.  240 

killed . vol.  xii.  240 

Jameson,  Lieutenant-colonel,  sends  papers  found  on  Andre, 

to  Washington . vol.  xiv.  372 

informs  Arnold  of  the  capture  of  Andre...  - . vol.  xiv.  373 


iQdex 


539 


JAY,  John,  drafts  address  to  the  people  of  Great  Britain . vol.  xii.  384 

and  the  conspiracy  in  New  York . vol.  xiii.  107 

to  Rutledge . . . .  * . . vol.  xiii.  227 

to  Gouverneur  Morris,  on  the  defense  of  New  York . vol.  xiii.  227 

to  Rutledge,  concerning  pee . vol.  xiii.  229 

on  the  opposition  to  Washington . (note)  vol.  xiv.  130 

approves  of  Arnold’s  plan  of  settlement  in  New  York _ vol.  xiv.  266 

correspondence  with  Washington . vol.  xv.  89 

at  the  head  of  affairs . . . vol.  xv.  124 

appointed  Chief-justice . vol.  xv.  144 

on  republicanism . vol.  xv.  174 

concerning  Genet . vol.  xv.  282 

envoy  to  Great  Britain . . vol.  xv.  299 

progress  of  negotiations . vol.  xv.  316 

his  treaty  with  Great  Britain .  vol.  xv.  316 

return  to  America .  vol.  xv.  317 

elected  Governor  of  New  York . vol.  xv.  317 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  Arnold’s  invasion . vol.  xiv.  461 

correspondence  with  Washington . vol.  xiv.  463 

escapes  to  Carter’s  Mountain . vol.  xiv.  540 

on  Knox  and  Humphreys . vol.  xv.  132 

anecdotes  related  by . vol.  xv.  132 

sketch  of  character  and  opinions . vol.  xv.  146 

in  Paris .  ...  .vol.  xv.  147 

opinions  on  the  new  Constitution . vol.  xv.  148 

re-eligibility  of  the  President.... . vol.  xv.  149 

horror  of  kingly  rule . vol.  xv.  149 

on  titles .  vol.  xv.  149 

Washington’s  election  to  the  presidency . vol.  xv.  149 

on  French  politics . vol.  xv.  150 

and  the  leading  patriots . vol.  xv.  150 

to  Paine  on  the  National  Assembly . vol.  xv.  152 

on  the  French  Revolution . vol.  xv.  152 

appointed  Secretary  of  State . vol.  xv.  165 

arrives  at  New  York . vol.  xv.  173 

impressions  concerning  the  political  tone  of  society . vol.  xv.  174 

conversation  with  Hamilton .  vol.  xv.  178 

remonstrates  with  Washington  on  ceremonials . .vol.  xv.  258 

discords  in  Congress . vol.  xv.  182 

concerning  Hamilton . vol.  xv.  182 

accompanies  Washington  to  Rhode  Island..... . vol.  xv.  193 

opposed  to  a  National  Bank . vol.  xv.  193 

rivalry  with  Hamilton . .vol.  xv.  194 

spmpathy  with  the  French  Revolution. . vol.  xv.  203 

hatred  of  royalty . vol.  xv.  205 

intention  of  retirement . vol.  xv.  218 

concerning  Hamilton . vol.  xv.  220 

appreciation  of  Hamilton . vol.  xv.  220 

conversation  between  Hamilton  and  Adams . vol.  xy.  221 


540 


Ipdex 


urging  Washington  not  to  retire . vol.  xv.  226 

to  Lafayette,  suspicions . vol.  xv.  228 

conversation  with  Washington  on  political  matters . vol.  xv.  230 

to  Washington  on  dissensions  with  Hamilton . vol.  xv.  240 

concerning  Gouverneur  Morris. . vol.  xv.  248 

on  the  atrocities  of  the  French  Revolution . vol.  xv.  250 

to  Madison  on  the  war  between  England  and  France . vol.  xv.  258 

to  Madison  on  Genet’s  speech . vol.  xv.  261 

conversation  with  Washington  on  attacks  of  the  press _ vol.  xv.  262 

on  Freneau’s  paper . vol.  xv.  262 

concerning  French  prizes . * . vol.  xv.  265 

interview  with  Genet . vol.  xv.  267 

relative  to  Washington’s  illness . vol.  xv.  265 

case  of  the  “Little  Sarah” . vol.  xv.  267 

concerning  recall  of  Genet . vol.  xv.  274 

intention  to  resign . \ . vol.  xv.  275 

interview  with  Washington . vol.  xv.  275 

to  Genet,  announcing  application  for  his  recall . vol.  xv.  279 

report  on  the  state  of  trade . vol.  xv.  288 

rebuke  to  Genet . vol.  xv.  289 

retirement  from  office . vol.  xv.  289 

at  Monticello . ....vol.  xv.  290 

character  of  Washington . vol.  xv.  291 

on  war  with  Great  Britain . vol.  xv.  298 

to  Tench  Coxe,  from  Monticello . vol.  xv.  300 

to  Monroe  on  Washington’s  influence . vol.  xv.  342 

on  breach  of  official  trust . vol.  xv.  343 

elected  Vice-President . vol.  xv.  355 

takes  the  oath  of  office . vol.  xv.  356 

Jeskakake,  Shannoah,  sachem . vol.  xii.  96 

Johnson  family,  power  in  New  York . vol.  xii.  458 

style  of  living . vol.  xii.  459 

adherents . vol.  xii.  459 

incite  the  Indians  to  hostility .  . vol.  xii.  459 

Johnson,  Colonel  Guy,  supports  the  royal  cause....  . vol.  xii.  460 

fortifies  Guy’s  Park . vol.  xii.  460 

holds  an  Indian  council . vol.  xii.  461 

doubtful  intentions . vol.  xii.  461 

at  Montreal . vol.  xii.  502 

contemplates  hostilities . vol.  xiii.  95 

Johnson,  Sir  John,  supports  the  royal  cause . . . vol.  xii.  459 

fortifies  the  family  hall . . . vol.  xii.  459 

fortifies  Johnson  Hall . vol.  xiii.  37 

prepares  for  hostilities . vol.  xiii.  37 

surrenders  to  General  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  38 

contemplates  hostilities . vol.  xiii.  95 

retreats  among  the  Indians .  vol.  xiii.  95 

rumored  to  be  in  the  field . vol.  xiii.  96 

contemplated  inroad  of . vol.  xiii.  425 


I  i)dex 


541 


on  his  way  to  attack  Fort  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  434 

depredations  . vol.  xiv.  414 

Johnson,  Sir  William . vol.  xii.  168 

expedition  against  Crown  Point . vol.  xii.  226 

defeats  the  French . vol.  xii.  229 

erects  Fort  William  Henry . vol.  xii.  229 

made  baronet  and  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs . vol.  xii.  230 

joins  Abercrombie . vol.  xii.  267 

to  attack  Fort  Niagara . vol.  xii.  284 

conducts  the  siege. . . ; . vol.  xii.  285 

captures  the  fort . vol.  xii.  285 

before  Montreal . vol.  xii.  299 

influence  with  the  Six  Nations.. . . . vol.  xii.  315 

concern  at  the  difficulties . vol.  xii.  459 

death . vol.  xii.  459 

Johnson,  of  Maryland,  nominates  Washington  commander- 

in-chief . vol.  xii.  420 

Johnstone,  George,  commissioner  from  Great  Britain . vol.  xiv.  162 

Fox’s  opinion  of . vol.  xiv.  162 

on  the  state  of  Philadelphia . vol.  xiv.  163 

attempt  to  bribe  General  Reed  . vol.  xiv.  165 

to  Robert  Morris,  attempts  at  corruption . vol.  xiv.  165 

Joncaire,  Captain . vol.  xii.  79 

his  history . vol.  xii.  80 

appears  at  Logstown .  vol.  xii.  80 

addresses  the  chiefs . vol.  xii.  80 

writes  to  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania . vol.  xii.  80 

interview  with  Washington . vol.  xii.  95 

entertains  Washington  at  supper . vol.  xii.  97 

his  diplomacy  with  the  Indians . vol.  xii.  98 

Jones,  David,  Lieutenant,  and  Miss  McCrea . vol.  xiii.  486 

Jones,  Honorable  Joseph,  letter  on  army  grievances . vol.  xv.  27 

Jumonville,  his  death . vol.  xii.  129 

instructions  found  upon  him . vol.  xii.  129 

Junius,  description  of  Lord  Botetourt . vol.  xii.  337 

K 

Kane,  Major,  letter  to,  intercepted . vol.  xii.  529 

Kelly,  Major,  destroys  bridge  at  Stony  Brook . vol.  xiii.  348 

Kentucky  admitted  into  the  Union . vol.  xv.  197 

Keppel,  Commodore,  arrives  with  his  squadron . vol.  xii.  162 

furnishes  cannon . vol.  xii.  162 

Kiashuta,  a  Seneca  sachem . vol.  xii.  351 

King,  Rufus,  concerning  Genet . vol.  xv.  282 

character  of . vol.  xv.  341 

minister  to  Great  Britain . vol.  xv.  342 

King’s  Bridge  to  be  fortified . vol.  xiii.  44 

reconnoitered  by  Washington . vol.  xiii.  98 

works  at . . . . . vol.  xiii.  98 


542 


Ir>dex 


fortified  camp  at . vol.  xiii.  208 

relinquished  by  the  British . vol.  xv.  47 

King’s  County  committee,  accusing  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  84 

disaffected  to . vol.  xiii.  378 

King’s  Mountain,  situation .  vol.  xiv.  432 

battle  of . vol.  xiv.  432 

its  effect . vol.  xiv.  434 

Kingston  burned  by  the  British . vol.  xiii.  574 

Kingston,  Lieutenant,  bears  a  note  to  Gates . vol.  xiv.  39 

Kinlock,  Captain,  takes  summons  to  Colonel  Buford . vol.  xiv.  312 

Kip’s  Bay,  landing  of  British . . . vol.  xiii.  205 

anecdote  of  Washington . vol.  xiii.  205 

Kirkwood  at  Eutaw  Springs . vol.  xiv.  588 

Kitchel,  Anna . (note)  vol.  xiv.  266 

Kittanning,  taken  and  burned . . . vol.  xii.  240 

Knowlton,  Captain,  joins  Putnam . vol.  xii.  415 

leads  a  fatigue  party . . . vol.  xii.  436 

puts  up  a  rampart . vol.  xii.  444 

repulses  General  Howe . vol.  xii.  446 

maintains  his  position . vol.  xii.  449 

promoted  to  major . vol.  xii.  482 

captures  a  British  guard . vol.  xiii.  47 

to  attack  Staten  Island . vol.  xiii.  154 

gallant  affair  at  an  outpost . vol.  xiii.  210 

wounded . vol.  xiii.  211 

death . vol.  xiii.  212 

Knox,  Henry,  offers  to  obtain  artillery  and  ordnance  stores.,  .vol.  xii.  539 

account  of .  vol.  xii.  540 

instruction . vol.  xii.  540 

sets  off  on  his  errand . vol.  xii.  541 

to  Washington  concerning  artillery  and  stores . vol.  xii.  588 

arrival  at  camp . vol.  xiii.  50 

stentorian  lungs . vol.  xiii.  317 

promoted . vol.  xiii.  356 

sent  to  Massachusetts . vol.  xiii.  374 

inspects  the  forts  of  the  Highlands . vol.  xiii.  414 

objects  to  leave  Chew’s  house  garrisoned . vol.  xiv.  51 

accompanies  Washington . vol.  xiv.  375 

described  by  Chastellux . vol.  xiv.  422 

dispatched  to  the  Eastern  States . vol.  xiv.  455 

and  Washington,  anecdote . vol.  xiv.  598 

moves  patriotic  resolutions . vol.  xv.  28 

suggests  the  society  of  the  Cincinnati . vol.  xv.  36 

at  Harlem . vol.  xv.  47 

enters  New  York . vol.  xv.  47 

parting  with  Washington . vol.  xv.  49 

to  Washington  concerning  Massachusetts  insurgents . vol.  xv.  92 

meets  Washington . vol.  xv.  98 

reception  of  Washington . vol.  xv.  112 


Ipdex 


543 


.  at  Washington’s  inauguration . vol.  xv.  115 

officiates  as  Secretary  of  War. . vol.  xv.  134 

described . vol.  xv.  126 

presidential  etiquette . vol.  xv.  133 

appointed  Secretary  of  War . vol.  xv.  143 

in  favor  of  a  National  Bank . vol.  xv.  193 

sides  with  Hamilton . vol.  xv.  193 

concerning  French  prizes . vol.  xv.  263 

case  of  the  “Little  Sarah” . vol.  xv.  270 

concerning  recall  of  Genet . . . vol.  xv.  274 

and  Washington,  anecdote . vol.  xv.  274 

to  Washington,  resigning . vol.  xv.  312 

position  assigned  to . vol.  xv.  377 

to  Washington  on  his  appointment . vol.  xv.  378 

to  Washington  on  his  reply . vol.  xv.  380 

Knox,  Lieutenant,  leads  forlorn  hope  at  Stony  Point . vol.  xiv.  246 

Knyphausen,  General,  re-enforces  Howe . vol.  xiii.  234 

menaces  Fort  Washington . vol.  xiii.  247 

at  Cecil  Court-house . vol.  xiii.  529 

attempts  to  cross  Chadd’s  Ford . vol.  xiii.  537 

moves  with  the  British  vanguard . vol.  xiv.  177 

sent  into  Westchester  County . vol.  xiv.  217 

left  in  the  command  of  New  York . vol.  xiv.  262 

prepares  for  defense . vol.  xiv.  267 

sends  expeditions  against  Newark  and  Elizabethtown.,  .vol.  xiv.  268 

plans  descent  into  the  Jerseys . vol.  xiv.  316 

passes  through  Elizabethtown . vol.  xiv.  316 

sack  of  Connecticut  Farms . vol.  xiv.  318 

presses  on  toward  Morristown . vol.  xiv.  318 

halt  before  Springfield . vol.  xiv.  318 

retreat.... . vol.  xiv.  319 

indecision . vol.  xiv.  321 

assailed  for  the  murder  of  Mrs.  Caldwell . vol.  xiv.  321 

moves  against  Springfield . vol.  xiv.  323 

engages  the  Americans . vol.  xiv.  324 

retreat . vol.  xiv.  326 

KojjciuszKO,  Thaddeus,  joins  the  army . vol.  xiii.  391 

fortifies  Bemis’s  Heights . .vol.  xiii.  391 

advances  to  the  Dan . . . . ,  .vol.  xiv.  488 

intrenches  Halifax . vol.  xiv.  491 

L 

Lafayette,  George  Washington . vol.  xv.  253 

arrives  in  America . vol.  xv.  332 

accompanies  Washington . vol.  xv.  358 

departs  from  New  York . vol.  xv.  366 

rejoins  his  family .  .vol.  xv.  367 

Lafayette,  Madame  de . vol.  xv.  230 

Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  at  Philadelphia . vol.  xiii.  479 


544 


fr?dex 


Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  offers  letters  of  recommendation.... vol.  xiii.  480 


his  appeal . vol.  xiii.  480 

appointed  Major-general . vol.  xiii.  480 

meets  Washington . vol.  xiii.  480 

description  of  American  army . vol.  xiii.  481 

modest  reply  to  Washington . vol.  xiii.  481 

nature  of  his  appointment . vol.  xiii.  482 

joins  Sullivan’s  division . vol.  xiii.  535 

wounded . vol.  xiii.  535 

on  Howe’s  neglect . vol.  xiii.  540 

to  Washington,  account  of  skirmish . vol.  xiv.  87 

appointed  to  a  division . vol.  xiv.  87 

proceeds  to  Yorktown . vol.  xiv.  109 

toasts  the  commander-in-chief . vol.  xiv.  110 

sets  out  for  Albany . vol.  xiv.  110 

to  Washington,  anticipations . vol.  xiv.  110 

perplexities . vol.  xiv.  119 

to  Washington  on  his  troubles . vol.  xiv.  119 

returns  to  Valley  Forge . vol.  xiv.  120 

keeps  watch  on  Philadelphia . vol.  xiv.  158 

encamps  on  Barren  Hill . •. . vol.  xiv.  158 

nearly  surrounded . vol.  xiv.  160 

extricates  himself . vol.  xiv.  160 

commands  the  advance . vol.  xiv.  173 

resigns  command  to  Lee.. . vol.  xiv.  174 

detached  to  the  expedition  against  Rhode  Island . vol.  xiv.  199 

interview  with  D’Estaing . vol.  xiv.  204 

sets  out  for  Boston  to  see  D’Estaing . vol.  xiv.  206 

returns  to  the  American  camp . vol.  xiv.  208 

brings  off  the  pickets  and  covering  parties . . . vol.  xiv.  208 

asks  leave  of  absence . . . vol.  xiv.  226 

project  for  the  conquest  of  Canada . vol.  xiv.  226 

arrival  at  Boston . vol.  xiv.  294 

reaches  the  American  camp . vol.  xiv.  294 

reception  by  Congress . vol.  xiv.  295 

dispatched  to  the  French  commanders . vol.  xiv.  331 

accompanies  Washington . vol.  xiv.  375 

pioposes  exchange  of  Andre  for  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  392 

commands  the  advance  guard . vol.  xiv.  417 

attempted  enterprise . vol.  xiv.  417 

anxious  for  action . vol.  xiv.  417 

in  the  camp  of  the  Pennsylvania  mutineers . vol.  xiv.  455 

in  command  of  detachment . vol.  xiv.  512 

instructions . vol.  xiv.  512 

sets  out  on  his  march . vol.  xiv.  512 

further  instructions . vol.  xiv.  513 

forced  marches  for  Virginia . vol.  xiv.  515 

at  the  Head  of  Elk . vol.  xiv.  515 

arrives  at  York . vol.  xiv.  516 


Ipdex 


545 


marches  to  join  Greene . vol.  xiv. 

saves  Richmond . * . vol.  xiv. 

to  Washington  on  Lund  Washington’s  compromise . vol.  xiv. 

refuses  to  correspond  with  Arnold . vol.  xiv. 

retires  from  before  Cornwallis . vol.  xiv. 

assumes  the  aggressive . vol.  xiv. 

joined  by  Steuben . vol.  xiv. 

follows  Cornwallis . vol.  xiv. 

retreats  to  Green  Springs . vol.  xiv. 

account  of  his  campaign . vol.  xiv. 

to  Washington  on  the  embarkation  of  the  British . vol.  xiv. 

measures  to  cut  off  Cornwallis’s  retreat . vol.  xiv. 

to  Washington,  urging  him  to  command . vol.  xiv. 

prevails  on  De  Grasse  to  remain . vol.  xiv. 

to  storm  a  redoubt . vol.  xiv. 

carries  the  works . vol.  xiv. 

false  statement  concerning . (note)  vol.  xiv. 

concerning  Hamilton . vol.  xiv. 

asks  leave  of  absence . vol.  xiv. 

to  Congress  with  news  of  peace . vol.  xv. 

at  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xv. 

on  the  French  Revolution . vol.  xv. 

to  Washington  on  the  same . vol.  xv. 

to  Washington,  presenting  the  key  of  the  Bastile.... . vol.  xv. 

on  affairs  in  France . vol.  xv. 

downfall  of . vol.  xv. 

prisoner  at  Rochefort . vol.  xv. 

on  his  way  to  Paris . vol.  xv. 

correspondence  with  Washington .  . vol.  xv. 

La  Force,  accompanies  Washington . vol.  xii. 

prowling  about  the  country . .vol.  xii. 

Washington’s  opinion  of . vol.  xii. 

in  Washington’s  power . . . vol.  xii. 

kept  in  prison . vol.  xii. 

his  fortunes . vol.  xii. 

Lake  of  the  Dismal  Swamp . . . vol.  xii. 

Lamb,  Colonel,  arrives  before  St.  John’s  with  artillery . vol.  xii. 

before  Quebec . vol.  xii. 

effective  fire  from  the  ice  battery . vol.  xii. 

relative  to  Aaron  Burr . vol.  xii. 

in  the  attack . vol.  xii. 

wounded . vol.  xii. 

assists  Arnold . . ....vol.  xiii. 

wounded . . . vol.  xiii. 

receives  Washington  at  West  Point . vol.  xiv. 

Lameth,  Chevalier  de,  wounded  in  the  attack . vol.  xiv. 

LANGDON,  President,  offers  prayers . vol.  xii. 

Langlade,  commands  the  Indians . . . vol.  xiii. 

Laurens,  Colonel,  duel  with  Lee . vol.  xiv. 


519 

521 

522 
539 
539 

541 

542 
542 
545 
545 
559 

569 

570 
562 
595 

595 

596 

597 
606 

31 

62 

163 

184 

185 
201 

248 

249 
366 
384 

99 

124 

127 

129 

156 

156 

313 

521 

159 

159 

160 

164 

165 
399 
399 
378 
597 
436 
487 
192 


546 


Ii>dex 


boards  the  French  fleet.. . . vol.  xiv.  199 

carries  a  protest  toD’Estaing . vol.  xiv.  307 

informs  Washington  of  affairs  in  Charleston . vol.  xiv.  38S 

on  Andre’s  fate . vol.  xiv.  405 

special  minister  to  France . vol.  xiv.  449 

visits  the  camp  of  the  Pennsylvania  mutineers . vol.  xiv.  455 

arrives  from  France  with  the  loan . vol.  xiv.  567 

capitulation  of  Yorktown . vol.  xiv.  603 

Laurens,  Mr.,  remits  letter  to  Washington . vol.  xiv.  574 

Lauzun,  Duke  de,  at  Newport . vol.  xiv.  330 

to  join  the  American  army . vol.  xiv.  530 

skirmish  with  Tarleton . vol.  xiv.  583 

Lawrence,  Colonel . vol.  xii.  164 

Lawrence,  Colonel  John,  judge  advocate  general . vol.  xiv.  390 

Lawson,  General,  re-enforces  Green... . vol.  xiv.  497 

at  Guilford  Court-house . vol.  xiv.  499 

Lear,  Tobias,  Washington’s  private  secretary . vol.  xv.  71 

on  Washington’s  character . c .  .vol.  xv.  74 

at  the  inauguration  of  Washington . . . vol.  xv.  114 

accompanies  Washington . . . vol.  xv.  156 

Washington’s  state  coach . vol.  xv.  193 

concerning  St.  Clair’s  defeat . vol.  xv.  314 

Washington’s  illness . . . vol.  xv.  390 

last  hours  of  Washington . vol.  xv.  396 

Learned,  Colonel,  receives  flag  of  truce . vol.  xiii.  63 

Lechmere  Point,  fortified  by  Putnam . vol.  xii.  566 

Ledyard,  Colonel  William,  defense  of  Fort  Griswold . vol.  xiv.  565 

Lee,  Arthur,  in  the  treasury  board . vol.  xv.  134 

Lee,  General  Charles,  at  Boston . vol.  xii.  389 

history . vol.  xii.  389 

his  birth . vol.  xii.  390 

serves  in  America .  . vol.  xii.  391 

adopted  by  the  Mohawks . vol.  xii.  391 

wounded  at  the  battle  of  Ticonderoga . vol.  xii.  391 

at  the  siege  of  Fort  Niagara . vol.  xii.  391 

joins  Amherst  at  Crown  Point . vol.  xii.  393 

at  the  surrender  of  Montreal . vol.  xii.  393 

in  Portugal . vol.  xii.  393 

brave  conduct . vol.  xii.  393 

opposes  the  ministry . vol.  xii.  393 

received  by  Frederick  the  Great . vol.  xii.  393 

at  Warsaw . vol.  xii.  393 

accompanies  the  Polish  embassador  to  Constantinople.. .vol.  xii.  393 

dangers  and  escapes . vol.  xii.  393 

again  in  England . vol.  xii.  393 

reception . vol.  xii.  393 

censured  by  a  friend . vol.  xii.  393 

imbittered  against  the  king  and  ministers . vol.  xii.  393 

returns  to  Poland . vol.  xii.  394 


/pdex 


547 


JjEE,  General  Charles,  hopes  of  active  service . vol.  xii.  394 

major-general  in  the  Polish  army . vol.  xii.  394 

restless  life . vol.  xii.  394 

affair  of  honor . vol.  xii.  394 

attacks  upon  the  ministry . vol.  xii.  394 

advocates  the  cause  of  the  colonies. . vol.  xii.  394 

visits  America . vol.  xii.  394 

reputation . vol.  xii.  394 

to  Edmund  Burke . vol.  xii.  394 

at  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xii.  397 

purchases  an  estate . vol.  xii.  399 

cultivates  the  acquaintance  of  leading  men . vol.  xii.  400 

efficient  in  organizing  the  Maryland  militia . vol.  xii.  400 

manners . vol.  xii.  400 

fondness  for  dogs . vol.  xii.  400 

to  Adams . vol.  xii.  400 

at  Philadelphia . vol.  xii.  424 

appointed  Major-general . vol.  xii.  426 

elected  third  in  command . vol.  xii.  426 

accepts  appointment . vol.  xii.  426 

sets  out  from  Philadelphia . vol.  xii.  427 

anecdote . vol.  xii.  429 

description  by  Mrs.  Adams.  . vol.  xii.  466 

Washington’s  miliary  counselor . vol.  xii.  479 

commands  left  wing . vol.  xii.  480 

strict  discipline . vol.  xii.  481 

profanity . vol.  xii.  481 

correspondence  with  Burgoyne . vol.  xii.  488 

declines  an  interview  with  Burgoyne . vol.  xii.  488 

on  the  bombardment  of  Boston . vol.  xii.  536 

and  Mrs.  Adams . vol.  xii.  572 

to  Richard  H.  Lee,  giving  his  policy . vol.  xii.  582 

sets  out  for  Rhode  Island . vol.  xii.  583 

test  oath . vol.  xii.  583 

legislative  censures . ;.vol.  xii.  583 

to  Washington  relative  to  the  defense  of  New  York . vol.  xii.  590 

at  New  Haven . vol.  xii.  592 

military  notions . vol.  xii.  592 

reply  to  New  York  Committee  of  Safety . vol.  xii.  594 

to  Washington  on  recruiting  success . vol.  xii.  594 

on  the  disposition  of  New  York . vol.  xii.  595 

arrives  at  New  York . vol.  xiii.  39 

to  Washington  on  a  resolve  of  Congress . vol.  xiii.  39 

on  the  arrival  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton . vol.  xiii.  39 

characteristic  menace . vol.  xiii.  40 

plans  of  defense . vol.  xiii.  41 

measures  against  Tories . vol.  xiii.  41 

defiance  of  Governor  Tryon  and  Captain  Parker . vol.  xiii.  42 

removal  of  cannon . vol.  xiii.  42 


548 


Ipdex 


Lee,  General  Charles,  strengthens  New  York . vol.  xiii.  43 

ordered  to  Canada . vol.  xiii.  43 

to  Washington  on  affairs  in  New  York . vol.  xiii.  43 

contempt  for  titles . vol.  xiii.  44 

appointed  to  command  the  Southern  department . vol.  xiii.  69 

to  Washington  on  his  appointment . vol.  xiii.  69 

sets  out  for  the  South . vol.  xiii.  69 

opinion  of  Washington . vol.  xiii.  76 

to  Washington  from  the  South . vol.  xiii.  70 

to  Washington  on  Clinton’s  expedition . ....vol.  xiii.  146 

foils  Clinton. . .  . vol.  xiii.  146 

arrives  at  Charleston . vol.  xiii.  146 

to  Washington  on  the  condition  of  Charleston . ...vol.  xiii.  147 

encamps  on  Haddrell’s  Point . vol.  xiii.  147 

describes  the  attack  on  Sullivan’s  Island . vol.  xiii.  148 

receives  thanks  of  Congress . vol.  xiii.  150 

to  Washington  for  cavalry . vol.  xiii.  150 

expected  in  camp . vol.  xiii.  235 

to  President  of  Congress  on  the  designs  of  the  British.,  .vol.  xiii.  225 

arrives  in  camp . vol.  xiii.  228 

to  Gates  on  the  meddling  of  Congress . vol.  xiii.  228 

arrives  at  White  Plains . vol.  xiii.  231 

commands  at  Northcastle. . . . vol.  xiii.  249 

to  Washington  on  his  position . . . vol.  xiii.  269 

allusion  to  Greene . vol.  xiii.  269 

to  Reed  explaining  his  projects . vol.  xiii.  277 

to  Bowdoin,  plans  and  schemes . vol.  xiii.  277 

to  Washington  on  removing  troops  across  the  Hudson.,  .vol.  xiii.  279 

to  Heath  on  his  right  to  command . vol.  xiii.  280 

to  Reed,  disparaging  Washington . vol.  xiii.  282 

to  Washington  on  his  delay . vol.  xiii.  290 

interview  with  General  Heath . vol.  xiii.  290 

question  of  authority . vol.  xiii.  291 

changes  his  mind . vol.  xiii.  291 

crosses  the  Hudson,  laggard  march. . . . vol.  xiii.  291 

on  military  greatness . vol.  xiii.  292 

at  Morristown . vol.  xiii.  294 

to  Congress  on  his  plans . vol.  xiii.  294 

correspondence  with  Washington . vol.  xiii.  294 

to  Heath  to  forward  troops . vol.  xiii.  295 

tardiness  of  his  march . vol.  xiii.  295 

and  the  militia . vol.  xiii.  297 

to  Gates,  disparaging  Washington . vol.  xiii.  297 

captured  by  Colonel  Harcourt . vol.  xiii.  298 

effect  of  his  loss . vol.  xiii.  298 

secret  of  his  conduct . .....vol.  xiii.  299 

character  of . vol.  xiii.  299 

treatment  of . vol.  xiii.  363 

to  Congress  from  New  York . vol.  xiii.  365 


Ipdex 


549 


to  Washington  on  the  refusal  of  Congress . vol.  xiii.  365 

actual  treatment  of . vol.  xiii.  367 

diminished  importance . vol.  xiii.  373 

to  Washington  on  his  captivity . vol.  xiv.  136 

exchanged  for  General  Prescott . vol.  xiv.  160 

in  command  of  a  division . vol.  xiv.  168 

to  Washington  on  the  enemy’s  plans . vol.  xiv.  168 

opposed  to  attack . vol.  xiv.  169 

relinquishes  the  command  of  the  advance  to  Lafayette.. vol.  xiv.  174 

military  punctilio . vol.  xiv.  174 

commands  the  advance .  vol.  xiv.  174 

encamps  at  Englishtown . vol.  xiv.  174 

advances  against  the  enemy . vol.  xiv.  176 

maneuver . vol.  xiv.  176 

retreat . vol.  xiv.  176 

angry  meeting  with  Washington . vol.  xiv.  178 

battle  of  Monmouth  Court-house . vol.  xiv.  180 

conduct . vol.  xiv.  180 

cause  of  retreat . vol.  xiv.  181 

correspondence  with  Washington .  . vol.  xiv.  187 

charges  against . vol.  xiv.  189 

court-martialed . vol.  xiv.  189 

concerning  Washington . vol.  xiv.  189 

sentenced . vol.  xiv.  191 

sentence  approved  by  Congress . vol.  xiv.  191 

abuse  of  Washington . vol.  xiv.  191 

duel  with  Colonel  Lawrence . vol.  xiv.  193 

retires  to  his  estate . vol.  xiv.  193 

style  of  living . vol.  xiv.  193 

queries  political  and  military . vol.  xiv.  193 

insolent  note  to  Congress . vol.  xiv.  194 

dismissed  the  service . vol.  xiv.  194 

to  Congress,  apologetic . vol.  xiv.  194 

his  character . vol.  xiv.  195 

his  death . vol.  xiv.  195 

his  will . vol.  xiv.  195 

burial . vol.  xiv.  195 

his  manuscript . vol.  xiv.  195 

to  Wayne,  applauding  his  capture  of  Stony  Point . vol.  xiv.  348 

caution  to  Gates . vol.  xiv.  327 

Lee,  Charles,  Attorney-general . . . . . vol.  xv.  332 

Lee,  Harry,  “Light-Horse  Harry” . vol.  xiii.  527 

repulses  a  surprise . vol.  xiv.  135 

promoted  . vol.  xiv.  135 

surprises  a  party  of  Hessians . vol.  xiv.  221 

proposes  an  attack  on  Paulus  Hook . vol.  xiv.  253 

sets  out  for  Paulus  Hook . vol.  xiv.  254 

surprises  the  post . vol.  xiv.  254 

difficult  retreat . vol.  xiv.  255 


550 


Ii>dex 


rewarded  with  a  gold  medal  by  Congress . vol.  xiv.  255 

joins  Washington . ...vol.  xiv.  320 

fight  at  Springfield . vol.  xiv.  322 

concerning  Arnold’s  conspiracy . vol.  xiv.  410 

escape  of  Champe . vol.  xiv.  410 

on  the  reception  of  Gates  by  the  General  Assembly  of 

Virginia . vol.  xiv.  442 

crosses  the  Dan . vol.  xiv.  493 

affair  with  Pyle’s  loyalists . vol.  xiv.  493 

on  Tarleton’s  escape . vol.  xiv.  494 

skirmish  with  Tarleton . vol.  xiv.  497 

at  Guilford  Court-house . : . vol.  xiv.  497 

joins  Marion . vol.  xiv.  547 

capture  of  Fort  Watson . vol.  xiv.  547 

capture  of  Fort  Motte . vol.  xiv.  548 

captures  Granby . vol.  xiv.  548 

exploits  of . vol.  xiv.  551 

pursues  Colonel  Coates . vol.  xiv.  553 

detached  to  operate  with  Sumter . vol.  xiy.  584 

at  Eutaw  Springs . vol.  xiv.  585 

anecdote  of  Washington . vol.  xv.  82 

communicates  the  death  of  Greene . vol.  xv.  84 

to  Washington  on  the  Presidency . vol.  xv.  103 

commands  the  army . vol.  xv.  303 

puts  down  the  insurrection . vol.  xv.  307 

Lee,  Richard  Henry,  delegate  to  General  Congress . vol.  xii.  373 

speech  before  the  General  Congress . vol.  xii.  381 

drafts  memorial  to  British  colonies . vol.  xii.  383 

urging  Washington’s  presence  in  Virginia . vol.  xiv.  534 

Legislatures  dissolved . vol.  xii.  323 

Leitch,  Major,  commands  Virginia  troops . vol.  xiii.  141 

joins  Knowlton  in  an  attack.  . vol.  xiii.  211 

wounded . vol.  xiii.  211 

death . vol.  xiii.  213 

Lempriere’s  Point,  works  thrown  up . vol.  xiv.  306 

Leslie,  Captain,  killed  at  Princeton . vol.  xiii.  345 

Leslie,  General,  attack  on  Chatterton’s  Hill . . . — vol.  xiii.  240 

at  Maiden  Head . vol.  xiii.  338 

advancing  to  re-enforce  Cornwallis . vol.  xiv.  470 

at  Guilford  Court-house . vol.  xiv.  500 

ordered  to  Portsmouth . vol.  xiv.  539 

Lewis,  Colonel . vol.  xii.  353 

Lewis,  Major  Andrew . vol.  xii.  219 

taken  prisoner . Vol.  xii.  279 

Lewis,  Major  George,  attends  on  Mercer . vol.  xiii.  351 

Lewis,  Lawrence,  aid-de-camp  to  Morgan  . . vol.  xv.  305 

invited  to  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xv.  361 

affection  for  Miss  Custis . vol.  xv.  363 

marries  Miss  Custis . vol.  xv.  391 


Ipdex 


551 


Lewis,  Robert,  Washington’s  agent . vol.  xv.  306 

Lexington,  battle  of . vol.  xii.  410 

loss  of  Americans  and  British . vol.  xii.  410 

Liberty  Tree . .vol.  xii.  376 

Light-house  Point,  surprised  by  Wolfe . vol.  xii.  364 

Lincoln,  General,  contemplates  descent  on  Long  Island . vol.  xiii.  316 

at  Bennington . vol.  xiii.  479 

at  Manchester . vol.  xiii.  490 

to  Schuyler  on  Stark’s  victory . vol.  xiii.  514 

joins  Gates . vol.  xiii.  560 

wounded . vol.  xiv.  31 

commands  the  Southern  department . vol.  xiv.  335 

unsuccessful  siege  of  Savannah . vol.  xiv.  360 

to  Washington  in  his  perplexity . vol.  xiv.  284 

strengthens  Charleston . vol.  xiv.  286 

remains  within  the  city . vol.  xiv.  386 

to  Washington  on  the  unwillingness  of  troops  to  remain,  vol.  xiv.  304 

replies  to  summons  to  surrender . vol.  xiv.  305 

in  favor  of  evacuating  Charleston . vol.  xiv.  308 

skirmish  with  the  British . vol.  xiv.  532 

grand  reconnoissance . . . . . vol.  xiv.  535 

opens  the  first  parallel  before  Yorktown . vol.  xiv.  593 

receives  the  submission  of  the  royal  army . vol.  xiv.  604 

returns  north  with  the  army . vol.  xiv.  608 

Lippencott,  Captain,  hangs  Captain  Buddy . vol.  xiv.  614 

tried  and  acquitted . vol.  xiv.  615 

Liston,  Mrs.,  at  Washington’s  farewell  dinner . vol.  xv.  356 

Little  Egg  Harbor,  expedition  against . vol.  xiv.  219 

Little  Meadows .  . vol.  xii.  123 

Braddock’s  expedition  encamped . vol.  xii.  176 

“Little  Sarah,”  case  of . . . vol.  xv.  270 

Little  Turtle,  decoys  Colonel  Hardin  into  an  ambush . vol.  xv.  189 

“Lively,”  ship  of  war,  fires  on  Breed’s  Hill . vol.  xii.  438 

Livingston,  Brockholst,  in  correspondence  with  Schuyler.... vol.  xiii.  548 

to  Schuyler  on  the  prospect  of  a  battle . vol.  xiii.  549 

Livingston,  Colonel,  joins  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  518 

cannonades  the  “Vulture” . . . vol.  xiv.  345 

Livingston,  Henry  Brockholst,  on  the  state  of  affairs  at 

Ticonderoga . vol.  xiii.  441 

Livingston,  Major,  and  Major  Brown  take  Fort  Chamblee....vol.  xii.  543 

drive  Colonel  Maclean  back . . . «  .vol.  xii.  548 

Livingston,  Peter  R . . vol.  xiii.  222 

Livingston,  Judge  Robert  R . vol.  xii.  508 

suggests  Arnold  as  commander  of  West  Point . vol.  xiv.  333 

at  the  inauguration  of  Washington . vol.  xv.  116 

Livingston,  Walter,  in  the  treasury  board. . vol.  xv.  134 

Livingston,  William,  Brigadier-general . vol.  xiii.  117 

sends  word  of  the  British  plans .  . .  .vol.  xiii.  166 

to  Washington . vol.  xiii.  287 


552 


Ipdex 


Logstown,  council  of  Indians  at .  ..vol.  xii.  87,  90,  848 

London  Chronicle,  remarks  on  General  Burgoyne . vol.  xiii.  47 

Long,  Colonel,  commands  the  batteaux . . vol.  xiii.  450 

arrives  at  Fort  Anne . vol.  xiii.  453 

retreats  to  Fort  Edward... . vol.  xiii.  453 

Long  Island,  battle  of . vol.  xiii.  164 

landing  of  the  British . , . vol.  xiii.  167 

British  occupy  Flatbush .  vol.  xiii.  167 

re-enforced  by  Hessians . vol.  xiii.  167 

De  Heister  reaches  Flatbush . vol.  xiii.  170 

plan  of  the  British . vol.  xiii.  170 

nocturnal  march . vol.  xiii.  170 

occupy  the  Bedford  Pass .  vol.  xiii.  171 

General  Grant  engages  Lord  Stirling . vol.  xiii.  172 

Sir  Henry  Clinton  turns  the  American  left . vol.  xiii.  174 

Sullivan’s  division  defeated . vol.  xiii.  174 

Lord  Stirling  surrounded .  vol.  xiii.  176 

forbearance  of  the  British . vol.  xiii.  176 

killed  and  wounded . vol.  xiii.  176 

fatal  neglect . vol.  xiii.  182 

retreat  from . vol.  xiii.  185 

described  by  a  witness . vol.  xiii.  187 

midnight  gun . vol.  xiii.  187 

Long  Island  tradition . vol.  xiii.  189 

alarm  of  the  British . vol.  xiii.  189 

in  possession  of  the  British . vol.  xiii.  190 

Loudoun,  Earl  of . vol.  xii.  228 

implied  censure  of  Washington . vol.  xii.  247 

arrives  at  Albany . vol.  xii.  249 

in  winter  quarters . vol.  xii.  250 

reception  of  Washington . vol.  xii.  252 

sets  sail  for  Halifax . vol.  xii.  254 

joins  Admiral  Holbourne  at  Halifax . vol.  xii.  254 

returns  to  New  York . vol.  xii.  254 

relieved  from  command . vol.  xii.  260 

Louisburg  to  be  attacked  . . .  ...  .vol.  xii.  260 

another  attempt  to  be  made . vol.  xii.  262 

invested . vol.  xii.  262 

captured . vol.  xii.  263 

Lovel,  General,  commands  expedition  against  Penobscot  ....vol.  xiv.  251 

at  first  repulsed,  but  effects  a  landing . vol.  xiv.  251 

besieges  the  fort . vol.  xiv.  251 

sends  for  re-enforcements . vol.  xiv.  252 

disastrous  retreat . vol.  xiv.  252 

Lovell,  James,  to  Gates  on  the  command . vol.  xiii.  405 

to  Gates  on  his  position. . vol.  xiii.  408 

to  Gates . vol.  xiv.  79 

invocation  to  Gates . vol.  xiv.  88 

Lowantica  Valley . vol.  xiii.  357 


Ipdex 


553 


Loyalists  in  the  Revolution . . . vol.  xiii.  216 

Luzerne,  Chevalier  ,de  la,  visits  Washington . vol.  xiv.  258 

and  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  300 

requests  ships  to  oppose  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  511 

banquet  to  the  officers . . . vol.  xiv.  571 

to  Washington  on  the  position  of  Lafayette . vol.  xv.  183 

Lyman,  General . vol.  xii.  227 

Lynch,  Thomas,  on  committee  to  confer  with  Washington...  ,vol.  xii.  534 
on  the  bombardment  of  Boston . vol.  xii.  534 

M 

McCall,  Major,  at  the  battle  of  the  Cowpens . vol.  xiv.  474 

McCrea,  Jane . vol.  xiii.  486 

murdered  by  Indians . vol.  xiii.  487 

its  effect . vol.  xiii.  487 

the  story  of  her  murder . (note)  vol.  xiii.  489 

McDougall,  General,  strengthens  Heath’s  position . vol.  xiii.  228 

in  command  at  Chatterton’s  Hill . vol.  xiii.  239 

at  Morristown . . . vol.  xiii.  333 

commands  at  Peekskill . vol.  xiii.  379 

fires  the  barracks  and  retires . vol.  xiii.  379 

commands  at  Peekskill . vol.  xiii.  414 

commands  in  the  Highlands .  . vol.  xiv.  146,  224 

joins  Gates . vol.  xiv.  217 

commands  at  West  Point . vol.  xiv.  241 

death  of . . . vol.  xv.  85 

McDowell,  Colonel,  in  the  battle  of  King’s  Mountain . vol.  xiv.  433 

McGillivray,  represents  the  Creeks . vol.  xv.  179 

McGowan’s  Ford,  affair  at . vol.  xiv.  483 

McGowan’s  Pass,  relinquished  by  the  British . vol.  xv.  47 

McHenry,  Major  James,  breakfasts  with  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  376 

secretary  of  war . vol.  xv.  332 

to  Washington  on  the  command  of  the  army . vol.  xv.  376 

McLane,  Captain  Allen,  brings  word  of  intended  attack . vol.  xiv.  89 

attacks  the  enemy’s  van . vol.  xiv.  89 

expedition  against  Paulus  Hook .  . vol.  xiv.  253 

McLeod,  Captain,  attempt  to  surprise  Jefferson . vol.  xiv.  540 

McPherson,  Major,  to  intercept  Simcoe.. . vol.  xiv.  542 

skirmish  with  Captain  Shank . vol.  xiv.  542 

Mack  ay,  Captain . vol.  xii.  136 

arrives  at  Washington’s  camp . vol.  xii.  138 

Mackenzie,  Captain  Robert,  to  Washington . vol.  xii.  385 

Maclean,  Colonel,  and  his  Highland  emigrants . vol.  xii.  544 

driven  back  by  Majors  Brown  and  Livingston . vol.  xii.  547 

at  Quebec . vol.  xii.  576 

loyalty . - . ....vol.  xii.  578 

Madison,  James,  member  of  Congress . - . vol.  xv.  129 

ceremonials  of  the  government . vol.  xv.  173 

remonstrates  with  Washington  on  his  intention  to  retire. vol.  xv.  222 

Vol.  XV. — *  *  *  24 


554 


Ir>dex 


prepares  a  valedictory  address  for  Washington . vol.  xv.  286 

debate  on  Jefferson’s  report . vol.  xv.  292 

Magaw,  Colonel .  . vol.  xii.  553 

commands  Fort  Washington . vol.  xiii.  233 

cannonades  the  British  frigates . vol.  xiii.  236 

in  favor  of  holding  Fort  Washington . vol.  xiii.  263 

refuses  to  surrender. . vol.  xiii.  264 

disposition  for  defense . . vol.  xiii.  264 

Majoribanks,  Major,  at  Eutaw  Springs . vol.  xiv.  586 

falls  back . vol.  xiv.  588 

Malmedy,  Colonel,  at  Eutaw  Springs . vol.  xiv.  586 

Manchester,  British  maraud . vol.  xiv.  522 

Manchester,  Duke  of,  compares  the  conduct  of  Clinton  and 

Dunmore . vol.  xiii.  43 

remarks  on  siege  of  Boston . vol.  xiii.  67 

Manly,  Captain,  captures  munitions  of  war . vol.  xii.  563 

Marbois,  Barbe . vol.  xiv.  258 

Marion,  Francis,  his  character . vol.  xiv.  436 

by  names . vol.  xiv.  436 

pursued  by  Tarleton . vol.  xiv.  436 

capture  of  Fort  Watson . vol.  xiv.  548 

capture  of  Fort  Mott . vol.  xiv.  549 

attack  on  Colonel  Coates . vol.  xiv.  554 

controls  the  lower  Santee . vol.  xiv.  584 

joins  Greene . vol.  xiv.  585 

at  Eutaw  Springs .  vol.  xiv.  585 

Markoe,  Captain,  escorts  Washington . vol.  xii.  453 

Marsh,  Rev.  John,  letter  relative  to  plot  in  New  York,  .(note)  vol.  xiii.  110 

Marshall,  Judge,  on  Lee’s  retreat . vol.  xiv.  190 

envoy  to  France . vol.  xv.  369 

Martha’s  Vineyard,  ravaged  by  the  British . vol.  xiv.  216 

Martin,  Colonel . vol.  xii.  249 

Maryland,  General  Assembly,  confidence  in  Washington . vol.  xv.  331 

Maryland  troops  described. . . . vol.  xii.  481 

sharpshooting . vol.  xii.  483 

described  by  Graydon . vol.  xiii.  143 

MASON,  George,  friend  of  Washington . vol.  xii.  828 

to  Washington  on  non-importation . vol.  xii.  336 

drafts  plan  of  association  for  the  non-importation  and 

use  of  British  goods  subject  to  duty . vol.  xii.  338 

Massachusetts,  General  Court  of,  advise  a  Congress . vol.  xii.  325 

petition  the  king  for  relief .  vol.  xii.  330 

urge  the  other  Colonial  Legislatures  to  join  for  redress.. vol.  xii.  330 

refuses  to  rescind  the  resolution . vol.  xii.  831 

protest  against  military  occupation . .vol.  xii.  332 

refuses  to  transact  business . vol.  xii.  332 

transferred  to  Cambridge . vol.  xii.  342 

resolution  against  a  standing  army . vol.  xii.  343 

refuses  to  provide  for  the  troops . vol.  xii.  843 


Ipdex 


555 


prorogued . . . vol.  xii.  343 

Assembly  recommend  a  General  Congress . vol.  xii.  305 

general  election . toI.  xii.  397 

semi-belligerent  state  of  affairs . vol.  xii.  397 

Congress  of,  raises  troops . vol.  xii.  463 

send  a  deputation  to  meet  Washington . vol.  xii.  464 

address  of  welcome  to  General  Lee . vol.  xii.  464 

number  of  troops . vol.  xii.  469 

their  destitution . vol.  xii.  471 

Washington’s  apology . vol.  xii.  473 

liberality . vol.  xii.  477 

asks  for  troops . vol.  xii.  484 

Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  fit  out  armed  vessels . vol.  xii.  531 

passes  an  act  for  fitting  out  armed  vessels . vol.  xii.  533 

insurrection . vol.  xv.  93 

quelled . vol.  xv.  97 

Mathew,  General,  in  the  attack  on  Fort  Washington . vol.  xiii.  260 

expedition  against  the  Chesapeake .  vol.  xiv.  237 

takes  Portsmouth . vol.  xiv.  237 

ravages  the  neighborhood . vol.  xiv.  238 

Mathews,  Colonel,  taken  prisoner . vol.  xiv.  54 

Mathews,  John,  on  committee  to  confer  with  Washington...  .vol.  xiv.  292 

Matson’s  Ford,  Lafayette  posted  on . vol.  xiv.  159 

Matthews,  David,  mayor  of  New  York,  apprehended . vol.  xiii.  107 

detained  for  trial . vol.  xiii.  107 

Mawhood,  Colonel,  at  Princeton . . . vol.  xiii.  343 

attacks  Mercer. . vol.  xiii.  344 

retreats  toward  Trenton . vol.  xiii.  346 

Maxwell,  General,  at  Morristown . vol.  xiii.  333 

commands  light  troops . ...vol.  xiii.  525 

skirmish  with  the  British . . .  . vol.  xiii.  528 

engages  the  enemy’s  vanguard . vol.  xiii.  530 

sent  to  the  Jerseys . .vol.  xiv.  161 

ordered  to  harass  the  enemy . vol.  xiv.  170 

Maynards,  Judge . vol.  xii.  83 

Meade,  Colonel,  Washington’s  aid-de-camp . vol.  xiii.  356 

Mecklenburg,  spirit  of  the  inhabitants . . vol.  xiv.  426 

Meigs,  Colonel,  enterprise  against  Sag  Harbor . vol.  xiii.  401 

struck  while  attempting  to  suppress  a  mutiny . vol.  xiv.  299 

Mercer,  Captain  George,  Washington’s  aid-de-camp . vol.  xii.  226 

Mercer,  George,  declines  to  act  as  distributor  of  stamps . vol.  xii.  326 

Mercer,  Hugh,  account  of . vol.  xii.  175 

with  Colonel  Armstrong . vol.  xii.  239 

wounded . vol.  xii.  240 

accompanies  Washington  on  a  tour  of  inspection . vol.  xii.  243 

a  visitor  at  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xii.  303 

disciplines  militia . vol.  xii.  399 

about  marching  to  Williamsburg . vol.  xii.  413 

made  Brigadier-general .  . vol.  xiii.  116 


556 


Ipdex 


joins  the  army . vol.  xiii.  116 

appointed  to  a  command . vol.  xiii.  116 

on  the  abandonment  of  New  York . vol.  xiii.  251 

conversation  with  Washington  on  resistance . vol.  xiii.  288 

leads  the  advance  on  Princeton . vol.  xiii.  341 

encounters  Colonel  Mawhood . vol.  xiii.  343 

wounded . vol.  xiii.  344 

death . vol.  xiii.  351 

character . vol.  xiii.  351 

Middleton,  Cornet,  sent  in  pursuit  of  Champe . vol.  xiv.  411 

Mifflin,  General,  urges  Lee’s  appointment  as  second  in  com¬ 
mand . vol.  xii.  427 

aid-de-camp  to  Washington . vol.  xii.  477 

secretary  to  Washington . . vol.  xii.  536 

suggests  a  name  for  the  captured  mortar . vol.  xii.  560 

adjutant-general,  manners  and  entertainments . vol.  xii.  570 

promoted . vol.  xiii.  86 

encamped  near  King’s  Bridge . vol.  xiii.  99 

characterized  by  Gray  don.. . . vol.  xiii.  141 

discipline  of  his  troops . vol.  xiii.  164 

arrives  with  troops . vol.  xiii.  182 

observes  movement  among  the  British  ships . vol.  xiii.  184 

premature  retreat . vol.  xiii.  187 

returns  to  the  lines . vol.  xiii.  187 

retreats  in  safety . vol.  xiii.  187 

sent  to  Philadelphia  for  aid . vol.  xiii.  277 

at  Philadelphia . vol.  xiii.  296 

supports  the  claims  of  Conway . vol.  xiv.  64 

opposition  to  Washington . vol.  xiv.  64 

member  of  the  Board  of  War . vol.  xiv.  88 

to  Gates  on  Conway’s  letter . vol.  xiv.  102 

meets  Washington . vol.  xv.  98 

case  of  the  “Little  Sarah” . vol.  xv.  267 

Miles,  Colonel,  commands  battalion . vol.  xii.  141 

at  Brooklyn . vol.  xii.  169 

Militia  System,  its  inefficiency . vol.  xii.  244 

organization  of,  in  Massachusetts . vol.  xii.  414 

Ministerial  Army.... . vol.  xii.  430 

Minute  Men,  rally  under  General  Heath . vol.  xii.  410 

form  a  camp . vol.  xii.  412 

Mirepoix,  Marquis  de . vol.  xii.  159 

Mischianza,  in  honor  of  Sir  William  Howe . vol.  xiv.  157 

Mississippi,  navigation  of . vol.  xv.  122 

Monckton,  Brigadier,  in  the  expedition  against  Quebec . vol.  xii.  286 

commands  battery  at  Point  Levi . vol.  xii.  288 

wounded . vol.  xii.  295 

Monckton,  Colonel,  killed  in  an  attack  on  Wayne . vol.  xiv.  183 

burial . .vol.  xiv.  184 

Monk’s  Corner,  Brigadier-general  Huger  at . vol.  xiv.  306 


Irjdex 


557 


surprised  by  Tarleton . . . . . 

Monmouth  Court-house,  battle  of . 

killed  and  wounded . . 

Monro,  Colonel,  in  command  of  Fort  William  Henry. . . , 

Monroe,  J  ames,  in  the  advance  against  Trenton . 

takes  two  cannon . 

remonstrates  against  Hamilton . 

minister  to  France . 

reception  in  France . 

recalled . . . 

to  Washington  on  an  intercepted  letter . 

address  to,  by  M.  Barras . 

Montcalm,  his  operations . 

takes  Oswego . . 

returns  in  triumph  to  Montreal . 

again  takes  the  field . 

attacks  Fort  William  Henry . , . . . . 

captures  and  destroys  it . 

returns  to  Canada . 

prepares  his  defense . . 

repulses  Abercrombie . . 

in  command  of  Quebec . . 

abandons  his  intrenchments. . 

sends  for  re-enforcements . 

advances  against  Wolfe . . 

receives  his  death  wound . . 

to  General  Townsend . 

to  De  Ramsay . 

his  death . 

Montgomery,  Richard,  at  the  landing  before  Louisburg 

appointed  Brigadier-general . . 

at  Ticonderoga . . 

birth  and  services .  . . 

emigrates  to  New  York  and  marries . 

appointed  Brigadier-general . 

appearance  and  manners . . 

embarkation  for  the  Isle  Aux  Noix . 

invests  St.  John’s . . . 

presses  the  siege  of  St.  John’s . 

to  Carleton  on  the  treatment  of  prisoners . 

takes  St.  John’s . . 

treatment  of  prisoners . . 

proceeds  to  Montreal . 

takes  Montreal . . 

prepares  to  descend  the  St.  Lawrence . 

to  Schuyler  on  insubordination  of  troops . 

annoyances... . . . 

intention  to  resign . 

joins  Arnold . 


,vol.  xiv.  307 
•vol.  xiv.  182 
,vol.  xiv.  184 
.vol.  xii.  254 
vol.  xiii.  821 
vol.  xiii.  322 
.vol.  xv.  299 
.vol.  xv.  307 
.vol.  xv.  808 
.vol.  xv.  345 
.vol.  xv.  346 
.vol.  xv.  367 
.vol.  xii.  250 
.vol.  xii.  250 
.vol.  xii.  250 
.vol.  xii.  255 
•vol.  xii.  255 
,.vol.  xii.  256 
.vol.  xii.  256 
.vol.  xii.  267 
.vol.  xii.  267 
.vol.  xii.  287 
..vol.  xii.  293 
.vol.  xii.  293 
.vol.  xii.  294 
.vol.  xii.  296 
.vol.  xii.  297 
.vol.  xii.  297 
.vol.  xii.  297 
.vol.  xii.  263 
.vol.  xii.  264 
.vol.  xii.  508 
.vol.  xii.  508 
.vol.  xii.  508 
.vol.  xii.  509 
.vol.  xii.  509 
.vol.  xii.  510 
.vol.  xii.  518 
.vol.  xii.  543 
.vol.  xii.  544 
.vol.  xii.  546 
•vol.  xii.  546 
.vol.  xii.  547 
.vol.  xii.  551 
.vol.  xii.  552 
.vol.  xii.  553 
.vol.  xii.  533 
.vol.  xii.  555 
.vol.  xii.  586 


558 


Ipdex 


arrives  before  Quebec . vol.  xiii.  25 

plan  of  attack . vol.  xiii.  25 

strength  of  force . vol.  xiii.  26 

on  Arnold  and  his  troops . vol.  xiii.  26 

summons  Quebec  to  surrender . vol.  xiii.  26 

to  Carleton . , . vol.  xiii.  27 

prepares  to  attack . vol.  xiii.  27 

efforts  to  incite  the  inhabitants . vol.  xiii.  28 

anecdote . vol.  xiii.  28 

project  of  an  escalade . vol.  xiii.  29 

plan  of  attack . vol.  xiii.  29 

the  attack . vol.  xiii.  29 

leads  his  men . vol.  xiii.  30 

surprises  the  picket . vol.  xiii.  31 

death . vol.  xiii.  33 

burial . vol.  xiii.  36 

Montgomery,  Major,  attack  on  Fort  Griswold . vol.  xiv.  565 

Montour,  Andrew,  acts  as  interpreter . .....vol.  xii.  72 

accompanies  Adjutant  Muse . vol.  xii.  137 

Montreal,  capitulates  to  Amherst .  . vol.  xii.  298 

taken  by  Montgomery . . . vol.  xii.  551 

Montresor,  Captain,  enters  the  deserted  American  works.... vol.  xiii.  189 

deserted  American  works . vol.  xiii.  189 

bearer  of  flag  to  Washington . vol.  xiii.  213 

Morgan,  Daniel,  arrives  at  camp . . . . vol.  xii.  484 

in  the  attack  on  Quebec . vol.  xiii.  32 

takes  command . vol.  xiii.  33 

carries  two  batteries . vol.  xiii.  34 

hemmed  in,  brave  defense,  and  surrender . vol.  xiii.  34 

exchanged . vol.  xiii.  215 

recommended  to  the  command  of  a  rifle  regiment . vol.  xiii.  216 

mans  the  lines . vol.  xiii.  236 

sent  to  fight  the  Indians . vol.  xiii.  478 

attacks  the  enemy . . vol.  xiii.  553 

effect  of  his  corps  on  the  enemy . vol.  xiii.  557 

to  attack  Burgoyne . vol.  xiv.  25 

harasses  the  enemy . vol.  xiv.  27 

to  re-enforce  Maxwell . vol.  xiv.  171 

at  Charlotte . vol.  xiv.  418 

detached  to  South  Carolina . vol.  xiv.  440 

on  his  way  to  Ninety-Six . vol.  xiv.  471 

retreats  from  Tarleton . vol.  xiv.  476 

at  the  Cowpens . vol.  xiv.  473 

reasons  for  selecting . vol.  xiv.  473 

disposition  of  troops . vol.  xiv.  474 

battle  of  the  Cowpens . vol.  xiv.  474 

spoils  taken . vol.  xiv.  476 

pushes  for  Catawba . vol.  xiv.  476 

crosses  the  Catawba . vol.  xiv.  477 


Ipdex 


559 


approach  of  Cornwallis . vol.  xiv.  478 

pushes  for  the  Yadkin . vol.  xiv.  485 

correspondence  with  Washington . vol.  xv.  304 

left  with  detachment . vol.  xv.  307 

Morocco,  treaty  with . vol.  xv.  123 

Morris,  Captain,  wins  Miss  Phillipse . vol.  xii.  230 

killed  at  Sullivan’s  Island . vol.  xiii.  149 

Morris,  Governor,  appoints  commissioners . vol.  xii.  162 

at  Alexandria . vol.  xii.  124 

to  Croghan . vol.  xii.  171 

Morris,  Gouverneur,  on  Gates . vol.  xiii.  520 

on  Pennsylvania . vol.  xiv.  133 

on  the  French  crisis . vol.  xv.  151 

differs  from  Jefferson . vol.  xv.  152 

to  Washington  on  the  French  Revolution . vol.  xv.  153 

on  the  same . vol.  xv.  184 

to  Washington  on  Lafayette . vol.  xv.  185 

to  Washington  on  affairs  in  France . vol.  xv.  200 

minister  to  France . vol.  xv.  248 

representation  of  affairs  in  France . vol.  xv.  249 

concerning  Lafayette  and  the  Reign  of  Terror . vol.  xv.  250 

relative  to  Louis  XVI . vol.  xv.  251 

on  the  successes  of  France . vol.  xv.  253 

to  Jefferson  on  Genet . vol.  xv.  256 

recalled . vol.  xv.  301 

Morris,  Robert,  sends  money  to  Washington . vol.  xiii.  335 

patriotic  exertions . vol.  xiv.  506 

entertains  Washington . vol.  xiv.  542 

Morris,  Colonel  Roger . vol.  xiii.  209 

Morristown,  its  position . vol.  xiii.  355 

sufferings  of  the  American  army  at . vol.  xiv.  263 

Mothe,  Admiral  de  Bois  de  la,  arrives  at  Louisburg . vol.  xii.  255 

Moulder,  Captain,  at  Princeton . vol.  xiii.  344 

Moultrie,  Colonel  William,  commands  at  Sullivan’s  Island.. vol.  xiii.  147 

glorious  defense . vol.  xiii.  151 

receives  thanks  of  Congress . vol.  xiii.  151 

proclamation . vol.  xv.  251 

Mount  Defiance,  strategical  position . vol.  xiii.  137 

Mount  Hope,  fortified  by  Burgoyne.... . vol.  xiii.  448 

Mount  Independence  evacuated . vol.  xiii.  450 

Mount  Vernon,  named  in  honor  of  Admiral  Vernon . vol.  xii.  44 

quiet  disturbed . vol.  xii.  164 

situation  of . vol.  xii.  301 

assumes  a  military  tone . vol.  xii.  399 

in  danger . vol.  xii.  548 

saved  from  ravage . vol.  xiv.  525 

revisited  by  Washington . vol.  xiv.  572 

Mow  AT,  Lieutenant,  destroys  Falmouth . vol.  xii.  532 

Moylan,  Colonel,  and  Wilkinson . . . vol.  xiv.  137 


560 


Ii)dex 


Muhlenberg,  General,  near  Suffolk . vol.  xiv.  517 

encounters  General  Philips . vol.  xiv.  521 

Mulgrave,  Major,  to  embark . vol.  xiii.  59 

Murdering  town . vol.  xii.  107 

Murray,  Brigadier,  with  Wolfe . vol.  xii.  286 

detached  to  operate  against  shipping  above  Quebec . vol.  xii.  289 

breaks  the  French  center . vol.  xii.  295 

attacks  De  Levi .  ..vol.  xii.  297 

is  repulsed . vol.  xii.  297 

retreats  into  Quebec . vol.  xii.  297 

desperate  condition . vol.  xii.  298 

arrival  of  a  British  fleet . vol.  xii.  298 

ordered  to  advance  against  Montreal . vol.  xii.  298 

ascends  the  river . vol.  xii.  299 

Murray,  Mrs.,  anecdote  . . vol.  xii.  299 

Murray,  William  Vans,  minister  to  France . vol.  xii.  299 

Muse,  Major,  teaches  Washington  the  art  of  war . vol.  xii.  82 

arrives  in  camp . vol.  xii.  137 

charged  with  cowardice . vol.  xii.  147 

obtains  grant  of  land . (note)  vol.  xii.  353 

Musgrave,  Colonel,  encamped . vol.  xiv.  48 

takes  post  in  Chew’s  House . vol.  xiv.  48 

Muskingum .  vol.  xii.  74 

Mutiny  of  American  troops . . . vol.  xiv.  298 

N 

Nash,  General,  killed  at  Germantown . vol.  xiv.  54 

National  Bank . vol.  xv.  193 

National  Gazette,  edited  by  Philip  Freneau . vol.  xv.  218 

Navigation  Laws . vol.  xii.  316 

Nelson,  General  Thomas,  opposes  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  462 

called  on  for  troops . vol.  xiv.  569 

another  proof . . . .  . vol.  xiv.  593 

Nelson,  Mr.  Secretary,  anecdote . . vol.  xiv.  593 

Neutral  Ground . . vol.  xiv.  367 

Nevil,  General,  house  of,  assailed . vol.  xv.  302 

Newark,  surprised  by  the  British . vol.  xiv.  268 

New  Bedford  ravaged  by  the  British . vol.  xiv.  210 

New  England  resists  the  project  of  taxation . vol.  xii.  318 

continues  the  disuse  of  tea . vol.  xii.  344 

army,  its  situation . vol.  xii.  422 

New  Hampshire  sends  volunteers . vol.  xii.  414 

grants . vol.  xii.  416 

New  Haven  taken  by  the  British . vol.  xiv.  241 

New  Jersey,  prison  ship . vol.  xiii.  370 

militia  turn  out  with  alacrity . vol.  xiii.  424 

troops,  discontent  of . vol.  xiv.  233 

Legislature  of,  satisfies  the  troops . vol.  xiv.  235 

invaded  by  Knyphausen . vol.  xiv.  819 


ti>dex 


561 


evacuated . .  vol.  xiv.  334 

troops,  mutiny  of . vol.  xiv.  459 

New  London,  expedition  against . vol.  xiv.  564 

taken  by  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  565 

New  Orleans .  . . . vol.  xv.  123 

Newport,  situation  of . vol.  xiv.  200 

Newtown,  battle  at . vol.  xiv.  236 

New  York  resents  the  attempt  against  the  independence  of 

the  judiciary . vol.  xii.  319 

proceedings  in  regard  to  stamp  act . vol.  xii.  326 

resists  the  mutiny  act . vol.  xii.  331 

powers  of  governor  and  assembly  suspended . vol.  xii.  332 

at  the  revolution . . vol.  xii.  457 

events  in . . . vol.  xii.  495 

in  a  panic  at  Lee’s  approach . vol.  xii.  594 

adverse  influences  in . vol.  xiii.  38 

arrival  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton . vol.  xiii.  39 

its  effects . vol.  xiii.  40 

letters  descriptive  of . vol.  xiii.  66 

batteries  at . (note)  vol.  xiii.  87 

alarm  of  conspiracy . vol.  xiii.  106 

arrival  of  British  troops . vol.  xiii.  110 

further  arrivals . vol.  xiii.  Ill 

popular  joy  at  the  declaration  of  independence. . vol.  xiii.  120 

destruction  of  the  statue  of  George  III . vol.  xiii.  120 

arrival  of  more  ships . vol.  xiii.  122 

panic  of  the  people . vol.  xiii.  123 

convention  at  White  Plains . vol.  xiii.  124 

arrival  of  Lord  Howe  . vol.  xiii.  127 

military  measures . vol.  xiii.  127 

arrival  of  a  hundred  sail . vol.  xiii.  155 

forces  collected  in  and  about . vol.  xiii.  157 

convention  order  out  levies . vol.  xiii.  159 

panic  and  distress . vol.  xiii.  161 

terror  of  the  inhabitants . vol.  xiii.  161 

question  of  its  destruction . vol.  xiii.  191 

letters  of  British  officers  relative  to . vol.  xiii.  193 

British  ships  come  opposite . vol.  xiii.  194 

question  of  abandonment . vol.  xiii.  201 

left  by  Congress  to  the  discretion  of  Washington . vol.  xiii.  203 

agitations  in . vol.  xiii.  202 

more  ships  move  up  the  Sound . vol.  xiii.  204 

evacuated  by  Putnam . vol.  xiii.  206 

conflagration  in . vol.  xiii.  213 

ascribed  to  American  incendiaries . vol.  xiii.  213 

Committee  of  Safety  to  Washington  on  the  defense  of 

the  Highlands . vol.  xiii.  222 

in  perturbation  on  account  of  French  fleet . vol.  xiv.  197 

bay  frozen  over . . . vol.  xiv.  266 


562 


Ipdex 


scarcity  of  food  and  fuel . vol.  xiv.  200 

reduction  of,  meditated . . vol.  xiv.  295 

to  be  attacked . . . vol.  xiv.  530 

failure  of  intended  attack  on . vol.  xiv.  532 

alarm  in . vol.  xiv.  613 

preparations  to  evacuate . vol.  xv.  34 

evacuated . vol.  xv.  47 

excitement  concerning  the  French  war. . vol.  xv.  255 

Niagara,  expedition  against . vol.  xii.  226 

rallying  place  for  Indians,  Tories,  etc . vol.  xiv.  213 

Nichols,  Colonel,  at  Bennington . . . vol.  xiii.  511 

Nicholson,  Commodore,  reception  of  Washington  at  New 

York . vol.  xv.  110 

Nicholson,  John,  Indian  interpreter . voL  xii.  352 

Nicola,  Colonel  Lewis,  extraordinary  letter  of . vol.  xiv.  618 

Noailles,  Viscount  de,  capitulation  of  Yorktown . vol.  xiv.  601 

Non-importation  associations,  effect  on  British  commerce . vol.  xii.  335 

Nooks  Hill,  attempt  to  fortify . vol.  xiii.  61 

North  Carolina  to  be  invaded . vol.  xiv.  337 

the  people  and  country . vol.  xiv.  339 

North  Church  used  for  fuel . vol.  xiii.  207 

North,  Lord,  premier . \ . vol.  xii.  342 

repeals  duties  except  on  tea . vol.  xii.  342 

on  the  right  of  taxation . vol.  xii.  343 

bill  favoring  the  export  of  tea . voL  xii.  361 

surrender  of  Cornwallis . vol.  xiv.  604 

Norwalk  devastated  by  the  British . . . vol.  xiv.  238 

O 

Ogden,  Captain  Aaron,  concerning  the  exchange  of  Arnold 

for  Andre .  . . vol.  xiv.  392 

Ogden,  Colonel  Matthias,  project  to  capture  Prince  William 

Henry . vol.  xiv.  612 

O’Hara,  General,  at  the  Yadkin . vol.  xiv.  486 

surrenders  the  garrison  of  Yorktown . vol.  xiv.  604 

Ohio  Company,  formation  of . vol.  xii.  68 

dispatch  Christopher  Gist  to  explore  the  Ohio . vol.  xii.  71 

establish  a  trading  company  at  Will’s  Creek . vol.  xii.  88 

Ohio,  expedition  to  the . vol.  xii.  345 

Ohio  tribes  incensed  at  the  French . vol.  xii.  88 

Oldham,  Colonel,  with  St.  Clair . vol.  xv.  210 

killed . vol.  xv.  214 

Old  South  Church,  desecration  of . vol.  xii.  538 

Olney,  Mrs.,  and  Washington . vol.  xv.  79 

Onondagas,  settlement  destroyed  by  the  Americans . vol.  xiv.  235 

Oriskany,  battle  of . vol.  xiii.  499 

killed  and  wounded . vol.  xiii.  500 

ORME,  Captain  Robert,  hopes  of  success. . vol.  xii.  164 

to  Washington . vol.  xii.  165 


Ipdex 


563 

Osgood,  Samuel,  in  the  treasury  board . . . vol.  xv.  125 

Oswald,  secretary  to  Arnold  in  the  attack  on  Quebec . yol.  xiii.  32 

leads  forlorn  hope . vol.  xiii.  34 

marches  to  Danbury . vol.  xiii.  394 

at  Monmouth  Court-house . vol.  xiv.  180 

Otis,  James,  against  writs  of  assistance . vol.  xii.  293 

P 

Paine,  Mr . . vol.  xii.  263 

Paine,  Thomas . vol.  xiii.  237 

on  Washington’s  retreat  across  the  Jerseys . . . vol.  xiii.  306 

moral  qualities  of  Washington . vol.  xiii.  302 

to  Washington  on  the  key  of  the  Bastile . vol.  xv.  186 

Rights  of  Man  reprinted . vol.  xv.  205 

Palfrey,  Colonel  William,  substitutes  an  original  prayer . vol.  xii.  572 

Palmer,  Edmund,  a  spy . vol.  xiii.  477 

Paris,  treaty  of  peace  signed  at . vol.  xv.  31 

Paris,  Colonel,  dispute  with  Herkimer . vol.  xiii.  497 

killed  by  Red  Jacket . vol.  xiii.  500 

Parker,  Colonel,  debate  on  Jefferson’s  report . vol.  xv.  292 

Parker,  Commodore  Hyde,  expedition  against  Georgia . vol.  xiv.  223 

Parker,  Daniel,  commissioner  to  New  York . vol.  xv.  34 

Parker,  Sir  Peter,  attacks  Sullivan’s  Island . vol.  xiii.  147 

is  repulsed . vol.  xiii.  149 

burns  the  “Actseon” . vol.  xiii.  150 

Parliament  taxes  America . vol.  xii.  318 

imposes  fresh  duties  on  American  imports . vol.  xii.  320 

extends  the  mutiny  act  to  America . vol.  xii.  331 

importuned  by  British  merchants . vol.  xii.  382 

passes  the  Boston  Port  Bill . ..vol.  xii.  363 

other  acts  to  the  injury  of  Boston . vol.  xii.  363 

Parsons,  General,  sent  to  Peekskill . vol.  xiii.  420 

at  West  Point . . . vol.  xiv.  147 

Patterson,  Brigadier-general,  moves  from  Savannah . vol.  xiv.  304 

Patterson,  Colonel,  interview  with  Washington . vol.  xiii.  129 

Paulding,  John,  and  Andre . vol.  xiv.  370 

Paulus  Hook,  situation  of . vol.  xiv.  252 

carried  by  Major  Lee . vol.  xiv.  254 

relinquished  by  the  British.  . . . vol.  xv.  47 

Peabody,  Nathaniel,  on  committee  to  confer  with  Washing¬ 
ton . . . vol.  xiv.  292 

Peale,  Charles  Wilson,  portrait  of  Washington — (appendix)  vol.  xv.  403 

Peekskill,  attack  on . vol.  xiii.  379 

Pellew,  Edward,  Lord  Exmouth,  on  Lake  Champlain . vol.  xiii.  259 

Pendleton,  Edmund,  delegate  to  the  General  Congress . vol.  xii.  373 

sets  out  for  Philadelphia . vol.  xii.  377 

against  Washington  as  commander-in-chief . vol.  xii.  264 

Pennsylvania  troops  described. . vol.  xii.  483 

sharpshooting . . . . . vol.  xii.  483 


564 


Ipdex 


described  by  Graydon . „.vol.  xiii.  142 

Legislature  of,  remonstrate  against  the  army  going  into 

winter  quarters . vol.  xiv.  93 

troops,  their  grievances . vol.  xiv.  451 

revolt . vol.  xiv.  452 

march  toward  Philadelphia . vol.  xiv.  452 

at  Princeton . vol.  xiv.  455 

British  emissaries,  in  camp . vol.  xiv.  457 

accept  propositions  offered . vol.  xiv.  457 

mutiny  of . vol.  xv.  41 

Council  of,  offer  to  Washington . vol.  xv.  56 

insurrection  in . vol.  xv.  302 

quelled . vol.  xv.  307 

Penobscot,  bay  of,  British  fort  at .  .vol.  xiv.  250 

expedition  against . vol.  xiv.  250 

Percy,  Lord,  advances  to  re-enforce  Colonel  Smith . vol.  xii.  409 

continues  the  retreat. . . . vol.  xii.  411 

conduct  of  soldiers . ....vol.  xii.  411 

sharp  skirmishing . vol.  xii.  411 

narrow  escape . vol.  xii.  411 

failure  of  ammunition . vol.  xii.  411 

to  lead  the  attack  against  Dorchester  Heights . vol.  xiii.  59 

on  Long  Island . vol.  xiii.  167 

leaves  Flatlands  in  Clinton’s  division . . . vol.  xiii.  177 

attacks  the  American  lines . vol.  xiii.  236 

to  re-enforce  Howe . vol.  xiii.  242 

menaces  Fort  Washington .  . vol.  xiii.  246 

Peters,  Judge,  receives  Washington . vol.  xv.  110 

Peters,  Richard,  secretary  to  Governor  Morris . vol.  xii.  170 

in  camp . . . . . vol.  xii.  178 

secretary  to  board  of  war  and  ordnance . vol.  xiii.  89 

Petersburg,  ravaged  by  the  British . vol.  xiv.  521 

Perouney,  Chevalier  de . vol.  xii.  143 

Philadelphia  during  the  battle  of  Brandywine . vol.  xiii.  528 

strength  of  the  British . vol.  xiv.  81 

question  of  attack  on . vol.  xiv.  84 

British  defenses . vol.  xiv.  85 

British  army  described . vol.  xiv.  134 

number  of  British  in . . . . vol.  xiv.  166 

preparations  to  evacuate . vol.  xiv.  167 

evacuated  by  the  British . vol.  xiv.  168 

Philipse,  Miss  Mary, . vol.  xii.  230 

Phillips,  General,  commands  artillery . vol.  xiii.  434 

fortifies  Sugar  Hill . vol.  xiii.  449 

demurs  to  the  expedition  against  Bennington . vol.  xiii.  506 

in  the  attack  on  Gates . vol,  xiv.  24 

covers  Burgoyne’s  retreat . vol.  xiv.  27 

visits  Baroness  de  Riedesel . . . .vol.  xiv.  39 

sails  for  New  York . vol.  xiv.  519 


Ipdex 


565 


arrives  at  Portsmouth . vol.  xiv.  519 

marauds  the  country . . . vol.  xiv.  520 

regains  Petersburg . vol.  xiv.  520 

death  of . vol.  xiv.  523 

Phipp’s  Farm,  battery  erected  on .  . vol.  xii.  567 

et  Phoenix  ”  ship  of  war  sails  up  the  Hudson . vol.  xiii.  122 

moves  up  near  Port  Montgomery . vol.  xiii.  131 

and  “Rose”  retreat . vol.  xiii.  157 

Piankeshas,  king  of . vol.  xii.  75 

interview  with  the  French  embassadors . vol.  xii.  76 

Pichon,  M.,  to  William  Vans  Murray . vol.  xv.  387 

Pickens,  General,  crosses  the  Dan . . vol.  xiv.  493 

affair  with  Pyle’s  loyalists . vol.  xiv.  494 

joins  Greene  . vol.  xiv.  585 

at  Eutaw  Springs . . . . . .  vol.  xiv.  585 

PICKERING,  Colonel  Timothy,  with  the  Essex  militia . vol.  xii.  411 

quartermaster-general . vol.  xiv.  335 

Secretary  of  War . . vol.  xv.  316 

to  Washington,  urging  his  return . vol.  xv.  324 

Secretary  of  State. . . . . . . vol.  xv.  332 

recommends  Hamilton  as  second  in  command . vol.  xv.  377 

PlEL,  Lieutenant,  character  of  Rahl . vol.  xiii.  326 

account  of  treatment  of  Hessian  prisoners .  . . vol.  xiii.  331 

Pierce,  Leigh,  anecdote  of  Washington . vol.  xv.  101 

Pigot,  General,  ascends  Breed’s  Hill.. . vol.  xii.  444 

orders  a  retreat . vol.  xii.  444 

Pigott,  General  Sir  Robert,  commands  at  Rhode  Island . vol.  xiv.  200 

amount  and  disposition  of  force . . . vol.  xiv.  201 

Pilgrims . , . * . vol.  xii.  316 

Pinckney,  Colonel,  commands  Fort  Moultrie . vol.  xiv.  288 

cannonades  the  British  fleet . vol.  xiv.  305 

withdraws  with  part  of  the  garrison  from  Fort  Moultrie  .vol.  xiv.  305 

Pinckney,  Charles  Cotesworth,  minister  to  France . vol.  xv.  345 

dismissed  by  the  French  Government . vol.  xv.  368 

envoy  to  France . vol.  xv.  370 

appointed  Major-general . vol.  xv.  378 

his  acceptance . . . vol.  xv.  384 

Pinckney,  Thomas,  concerning  British  aggressions . vol.  xv.  297 

wishes  to  be  relieved . vol.  xv.  341 

Pine,  portrait  of  Washington . (appendix)  vol.  xv.  406 

Pine’s  Bridge . . . vol.  xiii.  242 

Piqua,  Indian  town . vol.  xii.  74 

Pitcairn,  Major,  sent  forward  to  Concord . vol.  xii.  405 

enters  Lexington . . . vol.  xii.  406 

orders  the  American  yeomanry  to  disperse . vol.  xii.  406 

puts  them  to  flight . . . vol.  xii.  406 

slain  at  Bunker’s  Hill . . . vol.  xii.  451 

PlTT,  William, [administration . * . vol.  xii.  260 

Pittsburg,  embryo  city .  .vol.  xii.  346 


566 


Ipdex 


Plains  of  Abraham .  vol.  xii.  288 

taken  possession  of  by  Wolfe . vol.  xii.  293 

battle . vol.  xii.  293 

victory  of  the  English . vol.  xii.  295 

Pomeroy,  Seth,  nominated  general  officer . vol.  xii.  397 

appointed  Brigadier-general . , , . .  .vol.  xii.  428 

in  favor  of  occupying  Charlestown  Heights . vol.  xii.  430 

sharpshooting . vol.  xii.  448 

attempts  to  rally  the  troops . vol.  xii.  448 

Pontiac’s  War . vol.  xii.  314 

Pontiac  and  Colonel  Croghan . vol.  xii.  347 

Poor,  General,  to  attack|Burgoyne . vol.  xiv.  25 

attacks  the  enemy . vol.  xiv.  20 

Porterfield,  Colonel,  commands  Virginia  troops . vol.  xiv.  342 

joins  Gates . vol.  xiv.  344 

mortally  wounded . vol.  xiv.  344 

Portraits  of  Washington .  . (appendix)  vol.  xv.  403 

Port  Royal  Island,  landing  of  Tarleton . vol.  xiv.  280 

Portsmouth,  expedition  against . vol.  xiv.  510 

Posey,  Major,  at  the  storming  of  Stony  Point . .vol.  xiv.  245 

Potomac  river . vol.  xii.  302 

Powder,  scarcity  of . vol.  xii.  487 

Powell,  Brigadier-general,  in  the  invasion  from  Canada . vol.  xiii.  434 

Prayers  in  Washington’s  camp . vol.  xii.  138 

Prescott,  Colonel  William . vol.  xii.  435 

to  fortify  Bunker’s  Hill . vol.  xii.  435 

leaves  Cambridge .  vol.  xii.  430 

crosses  the  Neck . vol.  xii.  430 

ascends  Bunker’s  Hill . vol.  xii.  438 

anxiety . vol.  xii.  438 

inspires  confidence . vol.  xii.  438 

sends  for  re-enforcements . vol.  xii.  440 

tenders  the  command  to  Warren . vol.  xii.  443 

encourages  his  men . vol.  xii.  440 

orders  a  retreat . vol.  xii.  448 

services  at  Bunker’s  Hill . vol.  xii.  450 

at  Throg’s  Neck . vol.  xiii.  227 

Prescott,  General,  and  Ethan  Allen . vol.  xii.  524 

confined  in  jail . . . vol.  xii.  564 

commands  British  forces  in  Rhode  Island . vol.  xii.  571 

exchanged  for  Lee . vol.  xiv.  160 

Preston,  Major,  in  command  of  St.  John’s . vol.  xii.  521 

manful  resistance . vol.  xii.  543 

capitulates . vol.  xii.  545 

Prevost,  Bishop . . . vol.  xv.  117 

Prevost,  General,  ordered  to  attack  Georgia . vol.  xiv.  223 

takes  Sunbury . vol.  xiv.  225 

arrives  at  Savannah,  and  takes  command . vol.  xiv.  220 

Prideaux,  Brigadier-general,  to  attack  Port  Niagara . vol.  xii.  284 


Ipdex 


567 


embarks  at  Oswego . vol.  xii.  284 

besieges  Fort  Niagara. . vol.  xii.  284 

is  killed . vol.  xii.  285 

Prince  William  Henry,  project  to  capture . vol.  xiv.  612 

Princeton,  British  forces  assembled  at . vol.  xiii.  337 

action  at . vol.  xiii.  339 

killed  and  wounded . vol.  xiii.  345 

Pringle,  Captain,  conducts  British  armament  on  Lake 

Champlain . vol.  xiii.  254 

engages  Arnold . vol.  xiii.  255 

draws  off  for  the  night . vol.  xiii.  256 

Prisoners,  exchange  of . vol.  xiii.  363 

Province  Island,  fortified  by  General  Howe . vol.  xiv.  71 

Pulaski,  Count,  a  volunteer  . vol.  xiii.  525 

obtains  a  command . vol.  xiii.  539 

infantry  massacred  by  Ferguson . vol.  xiv.  220 

PUSAZ,  Hugh  de,  Bishop  of  Durham,  his  wealth  and  retinue.,  .vol.  xii.  29 

prepares  to  join  the  crusade,  but  is  induced  to  remain. . .  .vol.  xii.  29 

Putnam,  Captain,  dispatched  to  Cambridge . vol.  xii.  442 

Putnam,  Israel,  detached  to  reconnoiter . .....vol.  xii.  266 

at  Boston . . . vol.  xii.  389 

his  history . „ . vol.  xii.  390 

hears  of  the  battle  of  Lexington . vol.  xii.  412 

in  command  of  a  regiment . vol.  xii.  414 

appointed  Major-general . . . vol.  xii.  427 

in  command  of  Connecticut  troops . vol.  xii.  433 

in  favor  of  occupying  Charlestown  Heights . vol.  xii.  435 

opinion  of  American  soldiers . vol.  xii.  435 

joins  Prescott . vol.  xii.  436 

advises  fortifying  Breed’s  Hill . vol.  xii.  438 

asks  for  re-enforcements . vol.  xii.  441 

arrives  at  the  redoubt  . voi.  xii.  442 

words  with  Prescott . vol.  xii.  442 

orders  a  breastwork  on  Bunker’s  Hill . vol.  xii.  443 

suggests  a  novel  rampart . vol.  xii.  444 

rallies  the  re-enforcements . vol.  xii.  444 

attempts  to  rally  the  troops . . . . . vol.  xii.  449 

a  leading  spirit  at  Bunker’s  Hill . . vol.  xii.  451 

at  Prospect  Hill . vol.  xii.  470 

his  merits . vol.  xii.  477 

complimented  by  Washington . vol.  xii.  481 

commands  the  center . vol.  xii.  482 

and  female  prize . vol.  xii.  529 

christens  the  captured  mortar . vol.  xii.  560 

takes  possession  of  Cobble  Hill . vol.  xii.  565 

fortifies  Lechmere  Point . vol.  xii.  565 

anecdote  of . „ . vol.  xii.  567 

treats  his  men  to  an  exploit . vol.  xiii.  47 

ready  to  attack  Boston . vol.  xiii.  52 


568 


Ir>dex 


appointed  to  command  in  New  York . vol.  xiii.  7a 

military  rule . vol.  xiii.  73 

military  devices . vol.  xiii.  153 

to  Gates  on  the  British  force . vol.  xiii.  154 

in  command  of  Long  Island. . . . . vol.  xiii.  170 

crosses  to  Long  Island . vol.  xiii.  171 

in  favor  of  abandoning  New  York . vol.  xiii.  301 

to  be  stationed  in  New  York . vol.  xiii.  303 

retreat  from  New  York . vol.  xiii.  305 

described  by  Colonel  Humphreys . vol.  xiii.  307 

traditional  anecdote . vol.  xiii.  308 

loss  in  the  retreat . vol.  xiii.  308 

at  McGowan’s  Pass . vol.  xiii.  309 

commands  troops  in  the  Jerseys . vol.  xiii.  349 

takes  command  of  Philadelphia . vol.  xiii.  318 

ordered  to  Princeton . vol.  xiii.  357 

amount  of  force . . . vol.  xiii.  357 

stratagem  to  conceal  his  weakness . vol.  xiii.  358 

to  command  the  Hudson . vol.  xiii.  416 

on  the  alert . vol.  xiii.  477 

to  Sir  Henry  Clinton  on  Edmund  Palmer . vol.  xiii.  477 

force  at  Peekskill . vol.  xiii.  563 

to  Clinton,  on  the  designs  of  the  enemy . vol.  xiii.  563 

to  Clinton,  on  the  movements  of  the  enemy . .vol.  xiii.  564 

prepares  for  an  attack . vol.  xiii.  565 

outmaneuvered  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton . vol.  xiii.  570 

to  Washington  on  the  movements  of  the  British . vol.  xiii.  571 

desires  to  attack  New  York . vol.  xiv.  75 

his  “hobby-horse” . vol.  xiv.  77 

goes  to  Connecticut  on  private  matters. . vol.  xiv.  146 

near  West  Point . vol.  xiv.  318 

at  West  Point . vol.  xiv.  318 

commands  at  Danbury .  ....vol.  xiv.  335 

at  Smith’s  Clove . vol.  xiv.  341 

seconds  the  resolutions  of  Knox . vol.  xv.  38 

PUTNAM,  Colonel  Rufus,  directs  the  works  about  King’s 

Bridge . vol.  xiii.  99 

Ptlb,  Colonel,  defeated  by  Lee  and  Pickens . vol.  xiv.  494 

<i 

Quebec,  its  situation . vol.  xii.  287 

capitulates . vol.  xii.  297 

alarm  caused  by  Arnold . vol.  xii.  577 

besieged  by  Montgomery . vol.  xiii.  26 

the  assault . vol.  xiii.  28 

arrival  of  re-enforcements . vol.  xiii.  77 

blockade  raised . vol.  xiii.  88 

Quincy,  Josiah,  at  town  meetings . vol.  xii.  375 


Irjdex 


569 


.  R 

Rael,  Colonel,  attack  on  Chatterton’s  Hill . vol.  xiii.  239 

attack  on  Fort  Washington. . . vol.  xiii.  265 

drives  in  Colonel  Rawlings . vol.  xiii.  267 

in  command  of  Trenton . vol.  xiii.  309 

described . vol.  xiii.  310 

reconnoiters  the  banks  of  the  Delaware . vol.  xiii.  312 

warned  of  the  attack . vol.  xiii.  318 

alarm  at  an  outpost . vol.  xiii.  319 

relaxes  his  vigilance . vol.  xiii.  319 

bewildered  by  the  attack . vol.  xiii.  322 

rash  charge . vol.  xiii.  323 

wounded . vol.  xiii.  323 

taken  prisoner . vol.  xiii.  324 

his  character . vol.  xiii.  325 

dying  request . vol.  xiii.  326 

death  and  burial . vol.  xiii.  326 

Ramsey,  Colonel,  at  Monmouth  Court-house . vol.  xiv.  180 

Randolph,  Edmund,  nominated  Attorney-general . vol.  xv.  148 

opinions  and  presence . vol.  xv.  143 

opposed  to  a  national  bank . vol.  xv.  193 

to  Washington,  urging  a  continuance  of  office . vol.  xv.  234 

concerning  French  prizes . vol.  xv.  263 

succeeds  Jefferson  as  Secretary  of  State . vol.  xv.  291 

Fauchet’s  dispatch . vol.  xv.  325 

correspondence  with  Washington . vol.  xv.  327 

resigns . vol.  xv.  327 

his  vindication . vol.  xv.  332 

to  Bushrod  Washington,  his  contrition . vol.  xv.  333 

Randolph,  Peyton,  heads  a  company  of  volunteers . vol.  xii.  238 

elected  moderator . vol.  xii.  366,  373 

delegate  to  General  Congress . vol.  xii.  373 

president  of  s'econd  Congress . .vol.  xii.  421 

return  to  Virginia  Assembly . vol.  xii.  373 

Randolph,  of  Tuckahoe,  and  his  horse  Shakespeare . vol.  xii.  304 

Rank  of  officers . vol.  xii.  155 

Rafelye,  Mrs.,  betrays  the  Americans . , . vol.  xiii.  189 

Rawdon,  Lord . vol.  xiii.  567 

embarks  from  New  York . vol.  xiv.  289 

at  Camden . vol.  xiv.  338 

concentrates  his  forces  at  Camden . vol.  xiv.  343 

on  the  American  yeomanry . vol.  xiv.  435 

affair  at  Hobkirk’s  Hill . vol.  xiv.  548 

evacuates  Camden . vol.  xiv.  549 


570 


Ipdex 


enters  Ninety-Six . vol.  xiv.  549 

pursued  by  Greene . vol.  xiv.  550 

at  Orangeburg . vol.  xiv.  550 

departs  for  Europe . vol.  xiv.  556 

Rawlings,  Colonel,  at  Fort  Washington . vol.  xiii.  265 

driven  in  by  Rahl . vol.  xiii.  266 

Rawlins  bleeds  Washington . vol.  xv.  394 

Red  Hook,  battery  erected  at . vol.  xiii.  165 

cannonaded . vol.  xiii.  175 

Red  Jacket  at  Oriskany . vol.  xiii.  501 

Reed,  Colonel  Joseph,  ordered  to  assist  Prescott . vol.  xii.  440 

repulses  General  Howe . vol.  xii.  447 

maintains  his  position . vol.  xii.  449 

Washington’s  secretary . vol.  xii.  477 

remonstrance  of  friends . vol.  xii.  477 

on  scarcity  of  powder . vol.  xii.  488 

on  reserve  of  ammunition . vol.  xii.  512 

departs  for  Philadelphia . vol.  xii.  536 

meets  Lieutenant  Brown . vol.  xiii.  127 

recognition  of  Washington’s  rank . vol.  xiii.  128 

declines  to  receive  the  letter . vol.  xiii.  128 

on  sectional  jealousies . vol.  xiii.  141 

on  the  policy  of  remaining  in  New  York . vol.  xiii.  155 

relative  to  Clinton’s  arrival  at  New  York . vol.  xiii.  156 

on  the  British . vol.  xiii.  159 

on  Putnam’s  happiness . vol.  xiii.  171 

to  his  wife . vol.  xiii.  191 

on  the  awkward  position  of  the  army . vol.  xiii.  193 

concerning  desertions . vol.  xiii.  195 

to  his  wife,  anxieties . vol.  xiii.  204 

reports  a  skirmish . vol.  xiii.  212 

insolence  of  British  troops . vol.  xiii.  212 

to  his  wife,  from  Harlem  Heights . vol.  xiii.  224 

opposed  to  holding  Fort  Washington . vol.  xiii.  262 

to  Lee,  disparaging  to  Washington . vol.  xiii.  274 

dispatched  to  Burlington . vol.  xiii.  276 

rebuke  from  Washington . vol.  xiii.  286 

reconciliation . (note)  vol.  xiii.  287 

on  Washington’s  return  to  Princeton . vol.  xiii.  293 

stationed  at  Bristol . vol.  xiii.  314 

marches  to  Bordentown . vol.  xiii.  331 

to  Washington  from  Trenton . vol.  xiii.  332 

sends  in  pursuit  of  Donop . vol.  xiii.  334 

surprises  a  British  picket . vol.  xiii.  837 


Ipdex 


571 


scours  the  country . '. . vol.  xiii.  352 

appeal  to  Washington . vol.  xiii.  421 

to  Gates,  comparing  exploits . vol.  xiv.  84 

to  Wharton,  relative  to  attack  on  Philadelphia . vol.  xiv.  85 

narrow  escape  of . .vol.  xiv.  90 

on  keeping  the  field . vol.  xiv.  92 

reply  to  Johnstone . vol.  xiv.  166 

drafts  proclamation  for  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  272 

to  Greene  on  Arnold’s  conduct . vol.  xiv.  274 

president  of  the  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania.,  .vol.  xiv.  275 

increased  powers . vol.  xiv.  301 

revolt  of  the  Pennsylvania  line . vol.  xiv.  457 

arrives  at  Princeton . vol.  xiv.  457 

propositions  to  the  troops . vol.  xiv.  458 

Reign  of  Terror,  commencement  of . vol.  xv.  249 

Reparti,  Captain . vol.  xii.  100,  102 

Republicans,  party  formed . vol.  xii.  104 

Revolution  commenced . vol.  xii.  403 

trials  of  the . vol.  xiv.  264 

Reynell,  Lieutenant . vol.  xiii.  556 

Rhode  Island,  sends  volunteers . vol.  xii.  471 

troops,  their  fine  condition . vol.  xii.  472 

Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  fit  out  armed  vessels.. vol.  xii.  530 

(proper),  situation  of . vol.  xiv.  200 

plan  of  attack . . vol.  xiv.  200 

siege  abandoned . vol.  xiv.  206 

retreat  from . vol.  xiv.  207 

evacuated  by  the  British . vol.  xiv.  258 

Richardson,  Colonel,  joins  Washington  at  New  York . vol.  xiii.  195 

Richmond  in  Arnold’s  possession . vol.  xiv.  462 

Riedesel,  Baron,  in  Canada . vol.  xiii.  102 

attacks  St.  Clair’s  rearguard . vol.  xiii.  455 

demurs  to  the  expedition  against  Bennington . vol.  xiii.  506 

in  the  attack  on  Gates . vol.  xiv.  24 

covers  Burgoyne’s  retreat . vol.  xiv.  27 

Riedesel,  Baroness  de,  with  Burgoyne’s  army . vol.  xiii.  537 

account  of  movement . vol.  xiii.  548 

dines  in  camp . vol.  xiv.  29 

during  the  battle . vol.  xiv.  29 

describes  burial  of  General  Fraser . vol.  xiv.  31 

exposed  to  the  horrors  of  war . vol.  xiv.  37 

scarcity  of  water . vol.  xiv.  39 

reception  by  Schuyler . vol.  xiv.  44 

Rifle  dress,  origin  of . vol.  xii.  269 


572 


Ii)dex 


Riker,  Lieutenant .  . vol.  xii.  553 

Robertson,  General,  communicates  with  General  Howe. .  .vol.  xiii.  60 
Robertson,  Lieutenant-general,  on  commission  concerning 

Andre . vol.  xiv.  395 

to  Washington  on  Andre . vol.  xiv.  395 

Robinson,  Colonel  Beverly,  and  Washington . vol.  xii.  229 

in  the  attack  against  Fort  Montgomery . vol.  xiii.  447 

connection  with  Arnold’s  treason . vol.  xiv.  362 

attempted  interview . vol.  xiv.  382 

to  Washington,  interceding  for  Andre . vol.  xiv.  382 

accompanies  commission . vol.  xiv.  395 

Robinson,  Speaker,  thanks  Washington  on  behalf  of  the 

colony . vol.  xii.  300 

objects  to  Patrick  Henry’s  resolutions . vol.  xii.  322 

Rochambeau,  Count  de,  expected . vol.  xiv.  295 

arrives  at  Newport . vol.  xiv.  328 

past  history . vol.  xiv.  328 

to  Yergennes  on  the  state  of  affairs . vol.  xiv.  328 

his  troops . vol.  xiv.  330 

informs  Washington  of  ships  to  be  sent  to  the  Chesa¬ 
peake . vol.  xiv.  511 

arranges  plan  of  campaign  with  Washington . vol.  xiv.  513 

interview  with  Washington . vol.  xiv.  530 

arrival  with  troops . .vol.  xiv.  530 

at  Dobb’s  Ferry . vol.  xiv.  532 

reconnoiters . vol.  xiv.  534 

awkward  predicament . vol.  xiv.  536 

breaks  up  his  camp . vol.  xiv.  561 

visits  West  Point  with  Washington . vol.  xiv.  562 

pecuniary  assistance . . . vol.  xiv.  571 

accompanies  Washington . vol.  xiv.  572 

addresses  the  Gatinais  grenadiers . vol.  xiv.  595 

at  Williamsburg . vol.  xiv.  608 

at  Yerplanck’s  Point . vol.  xiv.  613 

retrospect  of . vol.  xv.  371 

Rochefoucauld-Liancourt,  and  Louis  XVI . vol.  xv.  153 

Rocky  Mount  attacked  by  Sumner . vol.  xiv.  341 

Rodney  to  advance  against  the  British . vol.  xiii.  524 

Rogers,  Colonel  Robert,  the  renegade . vol.  xiii.  216 

at  Mamaroneck . vol.  xiii.  233 

Romilly,  Sir  Thomas,  on  Arnold’s  conduct . (note)  vol.  xiv.  405 

“Rose,”  ship  of  war,  sails  up  the  Hudson . vol.  xiii.  122 

moves  up  near  Fort  Montgomery . vol.  xin.  134 

and  “Phoenix”  retreat . vol.  xiii.  163 


Ipdex 


573 


Ross,  Major,  capitulation  of  Yorktown . vol.  xiv.  601 

Rugeley,  Colonel,  taken  by  Colonel  Washington . vol.  xiv.  444 

Rush,  Dr.  Benjamin,  at  Mercer’s  death-bed . vol.  xiii.  851 

Russell,  Lieutenant-colonel,  takes  command  of  Fort  Mifflin,  vol.  xiv.  72 

Rutledge,  Edward,  member  of  the  board  of  war  and  ord¬ 
nance . vol.  xiv.  89 

on  committee  to  confer  with  Lord  Howe . vol.  xiv.  197 

clothed  with  dictatorial  powers . vol.  xiv.  287 

endeavors  to  rouse  the  militia . vol.  xiv.  306 

to  Washington,  imploring  aid  for  South  Carolina . vol.  xiv.  440 

Rutledge,  John,  Judge  of  Supreme  Court . vol.  xv.  144 

S  • 

Sackville,  Lord  George,  and  General  Lee . vol.  xii.  894 

Sag  Harbor,  expedition  against . vol.  xiii.  402 

Saltonstall,  Commodore,  convoys  expedition  against  Penob¬ 
scot  . ..vol.  xiv.  251 

Saratoga  occupied  by  Burgoyne . vol.  xiv.  34 

Sargent,  Colonel,  estimate  of  St.  Clair’s  loss . vol.  xii.  297 

Saunders,  Admiral . vol.  xii.  297 

Savage  Mountain . . . vol.  xii.  123,  185 

Savannah  besieged  by  D’Estaing  and  Lincoln . vol.  xiv.  261 

besiegers  repulsed . vol.  xiv.  261 

killed  and  wounded . vol.  xiv.  261 

Scammel,  Colonel  Alexander,  mistake . vol.  xiii.  161 

vigilant  guard  over  Andre . vol.  xiv.  388 

capture  and  death . vol.  xiv.  596 

Scarooyadi  accompanies  the  Half-king . vol.  xii.  128 

arrives  in  camp . vol.  xii.  131 

at  Braddock’s  camp . vol.  xii.  179 

taken  by  the  French . vol.  xii.  187 

his  release . vol.  xii.  187 

son  killed  by  mistake . vol.  xii.  192 

remains  true  to  the  English . vol.  xii.  224 

accounts  for  Braddock’s  defeat. . vol.  xii.  225 

opinion  of  British  soldiers . vol.  xii.  225 

Schuyler,  Philip,  appointed  Major-general . vol.  xii.  427 

sets  out  from  Philadelphia . vol.  xii.  453 

his  origin  and  education . vol.  xii.  453 

in  the  old  French  war . vol.  xii.  454 

in  the  expedition  against  Ticonderoga . vol.  xii.  454 

delegate  to  Congress . vol.  xii.  454 

sympathy  with  Washington . vol.  xii.  455 

recollections  with  Lee . - . vol.  xii.  455 

letters  from . vol.  xii.  503 

ordered  to  Ticonderoga . vol.  xii.  511 

arrives  at  Ticonderoga . . . - . vol.  xii.  503 


674 


Ipdex 


Schuyler,  Philip,  to  Washington,  picture  of  a  frontier  post.  ..vol.  xii.  503 

complaints  to  Washington . vol.  xii.  505 

to  Washington . vol.  xii.  506 

to  Washington  on  invasion  of  Canada . vol.  xii.  507 

repairs  to  Albany . vol.  xii.  507 

to  Washington,  recommending  the  employment  of  sav¬ 
ages . : . vol.  xii.  510 

to  Washington  on  the  expedition  to  Quebec . vol.  xii.  510 

returns  to  Ticonderoga. .  . . vol.  xii.  511 

illness . vol.  xii.  511 

arrives  at  the  Isle  aux  Noix . vol.  xii.  511 

sends  Allen  and  Brown  to  reconnoiter . vol.  xii.  517 

skirmish  before  St.  John’s . vol.  xii.  517 

information  of  the  fort . : . vol.  xii.  518 

return  to  Isle  aux  Noix . vol.  xii.  518 

arrivals  of  re-enforcements . vol.  xii.  518 

prepares  to  invest  St.  John’s . vol.  xii.  518 

illness . vol.  xii,  519 

return  to  Ticonderoga . vol.  xii.  519 

meets  Colonel  Warner . vol.  xii.  519 

on  Allen’s  imprudence . vol.  xii.  535 

to  Washington  on  his  annoyances . vol.  xii.  535 

to  Washington  on  the  Canada  expedition . vol.  xii.  544 

to  Congress  on  the  conduct  of  troops . vol.  xii.  553 

indignation . vol.  xii.  553 

high-minded  rebuke . vol.  xii.  554 

intention  to  retire  . vol.  xii.  556 

to  Congress . vol.  xii.  556 

to  Washington . vol.  xii.  557 

annoyance  from  sectional  prejudice . vol.  xii.  557 

to  Washington  on  the  disasters  in  Canada . vol.  xiii.  85 

urges  re-enforcements  for  Canada . vol.  xiii.  37 

besieges  and  captures  Sir  John  Johnson . vol.  xiii.  38 

conduct  applauded  by  Congress . vol.  xiii.  39 

prejudice  against . vol.  xiii.  84 

demands  a  court  of  inquiry . vol.  xiii.  86 

question  of  command  with  Gates . vol.  xiii.  136 

to  Washington,  concerning  the  command . vol.  xiii.  138 

arrives  at  Crown  Point . vol.  xiii.  136 

at  Ticonderoga . vol.  xiii.  138 

returns  to  Albany . vol.  xiii.  138 

question  of  command  settled . vol.  xiii.  139 

on  the  security  of  the  Northern  department . vol.  xiii.  375 

direction  of  affairs . vol.  xiii.  380 

asks  a  court  of  inquiry . vol.  xiii.  381 

tenders  his  resignation . vol.  xiii.  381 

resignation  not  accepted . vol.  xiii.  383 

to  Congress  on  its  resolve . vol.  xiii.  383 

misunderstandings  with  Congress . vol.  xiii.  888 


Ipdex 


575 


reprimanded  by  Congress . vol.  xiii.  385 

in  Philadelphia . vol.  xiii.  386 

takes  his  seat  in  Congress . vol.  xiii.  387 

services  at  Philadelphia . vol.  xiii.  387 

on  the  point  of  resigning . vol.  xiii.  403 

report  of  committee  of  inquiry . . vol.  xiii.  404 

memorial  to  Congress . vol.  xiii.  404 

reinstated  in  his  command . vol.  xiii.  409 

reception  at  Albany . vol.  xiii.  409 

on  fortifying  Mount  Independence . vol.  xiii.  410 

enforces  cleanliness . vol.  xiii.  411 

at  Ticonderoga . vol.  xiii.  435 

hastens  to  Fort  George . vol.  xiii.  435 

to  Congress  on  the  invasion  from  Canada .  ...  .vol.  xiii.  436 

to  Washington  with  St.  Clair’s  letter . . . vol.  xiii.  438 

hopeful  letters . vol.  xiii.  442 

to  General  Herkimer . vol.  xiii.  442 

to  Washington  on  the  evacuation  of  Ticonderoga . vol.  xiii.  443 

throws  up  works  on  Moses  Creek . vol.  xiii.  460 

to  Washington  on  the  enemy’s  movements . vol.  xiii.  462 

slanders  against . vol.  xiii.  470 

desires  a  scrutiny . vol.  xiii.  472 

summoned  to  Congress . vol.  xiii.  473 

cause  of  prejudice  against . (note)  vol.  xiii.  474 

retires  to  Fort  Miller . vol.  xiii.  486 

takes  post  at  Stillwater . vol.  xiii.  490 

appeals  for  re-enforcements . vol.  xiii.  504 

recalled  to  attend  court  of  inquiry . vol.  xiii.  504 

sends  relief  to  Gansevoort . vol.  xiii.  505 

moves  from  Stillwater . vol.  xiii.  506 

to  Duane  on  the  appointment  of  Gates... . vol.  xiii.  506 

to  Lincoln  on  Stark’s  victory . vol.  xiii.  514 

to  Stark  on  his  victory . vol.  xiii.  514 

means  augmenting . vol.  xiii.  519 

returns  to  Albany . vol.  xiii.  519 

promotes  the  success  of  the  campaign . vol.  xiii.  546 

benevolent  conduct . vol.  xiv.  44 

on  committee  to  confer  with  Washington . vol.  xiv.  293 

to  Arnold  on  Washington’s  disposition . vol.  xiv.  297 

Schuyler,  Mrs.,  anecdote .  vol.  xii.  455 

Scott,  Captain,  wounded  at  Sullivan’s  Island . vol.  xiii.  150 

Scott,  General  Charles,  expedition  against  Indians . ,..vol..xv.  207 

Seat  of  Government . vol.  xv.  175 

Sectional  jealousies,  Washington  to  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  140 

John  Adams  on . vol.  xiii.  146 

Washington’s  general  order  upon . vol.  xiii.  158 

Washington  relative  to . vol.  xiii.  376 

Sevier,  Colonel,  in  the  battle  of  King’s  Mountain . vol.  xiv.  433 

Seymour,  Colonel  Thomas,  commands  Connecticut  light  hoTse.vol.  xiii.  143 


576 


Ir>dex 


to  Washington,  for  a  discharge  of  troops . vol.  xiii.  145 

to  Governor  Trumbull,  explanatory . . . vol.  xiil.  146 

Shank,  Captain,  skirmish  with  McPherson . vol.  xiv.  542 

Sharpe,  Governor .  .  . vol.  xii.  153 

furnishes  wagons . vol.  xii.  156 

Sharpless,  portrait  of  Washington. . . . (appendix)  vol.  xv.  406 

Shaw,  Captain,  society  of  the  Cincinnati . vol.  xv.  35 

SHAW,  Major,  to  his  father . . . vol.  xiv.  47 

Washington  and  the  army . vol.  xv.  27 

Shee,  Colonel . . . . vol.  xiii.  141 

Shelburne,  Major,  and  detachment  captured . vol.  xiii.  93 

Shelby,  Colonel,  in  the  battle  of  King’s  Mountain . vol.  xiv.  433 

Shenandoah,  Valley  of .  . .  .n . vol.  xii.  59 

ravaged  by  Indians . . . vol.  xii.  231 

Shepard,  Colonel,  wounded . vol.  xiii.  233 

Sherman,  Roger,  member  of  the  board  of  war  and  ordnance. vol.  xiii.  88 

introduces  Gates  to  Congress . vol.  xiii.  411 

at  Washington’s  inauguration . vol.  xv.  116 

Shingis,  chief  of  the  Delawares . vol.  xii.  93 

instigates  outrages  on  the  colonists . vol.  xii.  224 

at  Kittanning . . vol.  xii.  239 

blockades  Fort  Pitt . .....vol.  xii.  315 

Shippen,  Edward . vol.  xiv.  273 

SHIPPEN,  Miss  Margaret. . ...vol.  xiv.  273 

Shirley,  General,  expedition  against  Niagara . vol.  xii.  218 

referred  to  on  a  point  of  rank. . vol.  xii.  225 

plan  of  campaign . vol.  xii.  227 

recalled  to  England . vol.  xii.  166 

Shirley,  Governor  of  Massachusetts . vol.  xii.  166 

Shirley,  William,  to  Governor  Morris . vol.  xii.  212 

Short  Hills,  Washington  posted  at . vol.  xiv.  817 

Shreve,  Colonel,  retreating . vol.  xiv.  137 

in  the  fight  at  Springfield . vol.  xiv.  323 

SHtJLDHAM,  Admiral . vol.  xiii.  61 

Silliman,  General,  rouses  the  country . vol.  xiii.  397 

joined  by  Arnold  and  Wooster . vol.  xiii.  398 

Silver  Heels,  in  Braddock’s  camp . vol.  xiii.  181 

SIMCOE,  Colonel,  accompanies  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  448 

devastates  Westham . vol.  xiv.  462 

deceives  Steuben . vol.  xiv.  541 

ravages . vol.  xiv.  542 

skirmish  with  Butler . vol.  xiv.  542 

SIBEUIL,  Captain  de,  slain . vol.  xiv.  598 

Skene,  Colonel,  joins  Burgoyne . vol.  xiii.  485 

suggests  an  expedition  to  Bennington. . vol.  xiii.  493 

to  accompany  the  expedition . vol.  xiii.  506 

Slavery,  Washington,  concerning . vol.  xv.  898 

Smallwood,  Colonel . vol.  xiii.  143 

equipment  of  his  battalion . vol.  xiii.  143 


Ipdex 


577 


re-enforces  Washington . . . vol.  xiii.  144 

bravery  of  his  macaronis . . . .  vol.  xiii.  180 

wounded . vol.  xiii.  240 

to  co-operate  with  Rodney . vol.  xiii.  525 

his  new  militia . . . vol.  xiii.  541 

stationed  on  the  Catawba . vol.  xiv.  439 

Smith,  J oshna  Hett,  delivers  Arnold’s  letter  to  Colonel  Robin¬ 
son.  . . . . .  .......VOL  XIV.  302 

takes  Andre  ashore . vol.  xiv.  363 

accompanies  Andre .  .  ..vol.  xiv.  363 

parts  with  Andre . . . vol.  xiv.  368 

sent  a  prisoner  to  West  Point . vol.  xiv.  384 

acquitted . . . . . vol.  xiv.  403 

SMITH,  Lieutenant-colonel,  commands  expedition  against  Con¬ 
cord . . . ..vol.  xii.  404 

sets  out  on  his  march . vol.  xii.  404 

people  rising . vol.  xii.  405 

sends  for  re-enforcements . vol.  xii.  405 

sends  Major  Pitcairn  forward . . .  .vol.  xii.  405 

arrives  at  Lexington . vol.  xii.  406 

enters  Concord . . . . . . vol.  xii.  408 

retreats  on  Boston . vol.  xii.  408 

harassed  by  the  Americans . vol.  xii.  409 

re-enforced  by  Lord  Percy . . . vol.  xii.  409 

SMITH,  Lieutenant-colonel  Samuel,  commands  Fort  Mifflin..  ..vol.  xiv.  58 

receives  thanks  of  Congress . vol.  xiv.  63 

on  the  defense  of  Fort  Mifflin . vol.  xiv.  72 

disabled . vol.  xiv.  73 

voted  a  sword  by  Congress . . vol.  xiv.  74 

SMITH,  Lieutenant,  killed  while  bearing  flag . vol.  xiv.  51 

SMITH,  William,  the  historian,  on  Gage . vol.  xii.  367 

SMITH,  Chief-justice  William,  on  commission  concerning  Andre. vol.  xiv.  395 

Smith,  William  S.,  commissioner  to  New  York . vol.  xv.  34 

Soldiers’  claims . . . . vol.  xii.  345 

adjusted . . . . ..(note)  vol.  xii.  353 

South  Carolina,  invasion  of . . . vol.  xiv.  263 

condition  and  population . vol.  xiv.  284 

symptoms  of  revolt . vol.  xiv.  339 

lower  part  described . . . vol.  xiv.  349 

Spain  and  the  Mississippi . . . vol.  xv.  122 

Sfecht,  Brigadier-general,  in  command  of  Burgoyne’s  camp. vol.  xiv.  24 

Spencer,  Joseph,  appointed  Brigadier-general . vol.  xii.  428 

offended  on  a  question  of  rank . vol.  xii.  476 

at  Roxbury . vol.  xii.  482 

at  Harlem . vol.  xiii.  203 

SPICER,  Major,  at  Brandywine . vol.  xiii.  533 

Spotswood,  Colonel  Alexander,  forms  Washington’s  guard...  vol.  xiii.  392 

Springfield,  N.  J.,  American  troops  at . vol.  xiv.  316 

fight  at . . . . vol.  xiv.  324 


Vol.  XV. — *  *  *  25 


578 


Ipdex 


burned  by  the  British . vol.  xiv.  324 

Stamp  Act  projected . vol.  xii.  320 

its  passage . vol.  xii.  322 

first  opposition  to . vol.  xii.  323 

preparations  to  enforce  it, . vol.  xii.  326 

popular  agitation .  vol.  xii.  32T 

repealed . vol.  xii.  329 

Stanislaus,  King,  makes  General  Lee  his  aid-de-camp . vol.  xii.  393 

friendship  for  General  Lee . vol.  xii.  393 

Stanwix,  Colonel . vol.  xii.  253 

Stark,  John,  carries  the  alarm . vol.  xii.  412 

arrives  with  troops  from  New  Hampshire . vol.  xii.  431 

to  re-enforce  Prescott . vol.  xii.  439 

arrives  at  Bunker’s  Hill . vol.  xii.  441 

anecdote . vol.  xii.  443 

repulses  General  Howe . vol.  xii.  444 

maintains  his  position . vol.  xii.  447 

at  Bennington . vol.  xiii.  479 

appeal  to  his  patriotism . vol.  xiii.  503 

at  Bennington . vol.  xiii.  508 

serves  on  his  own  responsibility . vol.  xiii.  508 

insubordination . vol.  xiii.  510 

sallies  out  and  meets  the  enemy . vol.  xiii.  510 

attacks  Baum . vol.  xiii.  510 

defeats  Baum . vol.  xiii.  512 

to  Lafayette . vol.  xiv.  119 

forage  in  Westchester  County . vol.  xiv.  424 

Staten  Island,  British  throwing  up  works . vol.  xiii.  117 

treachery  of  the  people . vol.  xiii.  117 

St.  Clair,  Colonel,  detached  to  Three  Rivers . vol.  xiii.  100 

takes  command  at  Ticonderoga . vol.  xiii.  410 

announces  the  appearance  of  the  enemy . vol.  xiii.  428 

to  Schuyler  on  Burgoyne’s  force . vol.  xiii.  437 

on  desperate  state  of  Ticonderoga . vol.  xiii.  439 

his  garrison . vol.  xiii.  439 

evacuates  Ticonderoga . vol.  xiii.  442 

calls  a  council  of  war .  ..vol.  xiii.  450 

evacuates  Ticonderoga,  and  Mount  Independence . vol.  xiii.  450 

his  retreat . vol.  xiii.  451 

attacked  by  General  Fraser . vol.  xiii.  455 

reaches  Fort  Edward . vol.  xiii.  457 

summoned  to  Congress . vol.  xiii.  471 

insinuations  against . . vol.  xiv.  410 

sent  to  re-enforce  Greene . vol.  xiv.  608 

receives  Washington . vol.  xv.  110 

at  Washington’s  inauguration . vol.  xv.  116 

commands  Indian  expedition . vol.  xv.  197 

cautioned  by  Washington . vol.  xv.  197 

his  army . vol.  xv.  207 


Ipdex 


579 


character  and  equipment . vol.  xv.  207 

on  his  march . vol.  xv.  209 

desertions . vol.  xv.  209 

his  encampment . vol.  xv.  210 

surprised  by  Indians . vol.  xy.  212 

conduct  in  the  battle . vol.  xv.  212 

flight  of . vol.  xv.  212 

reach  Fort  Jefferson . vol.  xv.  213 

arrives  at  Fort  Washington . vol.  xv.  213 

asks  for  a  court  of  inquiry . vol.  xv.  223 

resigns  his  commission . ...vol.  xv.  223 

exculpated  by  House  of  Representatives . vol.  xv.  225 

St.  Clair,  Sir  John,  precedes  Braddock .  vol.  xii.  160 

to  Governor  Morris . vol.  xii.  161 

engages  wagons  and  horses . vol.  xii.  163 

his  wrath  at  Fort  Cumberland . vol.  xii.  169 

in  the  advance  to  Fort  Duquesne . vol.  xii.  197 

orders  Washington  to  Williamsburg . vol.  xii.  271 

Steele,  Mrs.  Elizabeth,  and  General  Greene . vol.  xiv.  486 

Stephen,  Colonel  Adam,  joins  Washington . vol.  xii.  118 

promoted  by  Washington . vol.  xii.  136 

with  Washington . vol.  xii.  216 

at  Princeton . vol.  xiii.  288 

at  the  battle  of  Germantown . vol.  xiv.  49 

dismissed . .vol.  xiv.  87 

Sterling,  Colonel,  lands  at  Fort  Washington . vol.  xiii.  265 

at  Princeton . vol.  xiii.  288 

mortally  wounded . vol.  xiv.  316 

Steuben,  Baron,  arrival  in  camp . vol.  xiv.  140 

his  history . vol.  xiv.  140 

to  Washington  on  his  desire  to  serve  America . vol.  xiv.  141 

proceeds  to  Congress . vol.  xiv.  141 

appointed  inspector-general . vol.  xiv.  142 

disciplines  the  army . vol.  xiv.  143 

anecdotes  of . vol.  xiv.  144 

character  and  habits . vol.  xiv.  144 

effect  of  his  discipline . vol.  xiv.  180 

to  preside  over  court  of  inquiry . vol.  xiv.  414 

commands  in  Virginia . vol.  xiv.  461 

opposes  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  463 

at  York . vol.  xiv.  517 

obliged  to  withdraw . vol.  xiv.  518 

deceived  by  Simcoe . . vol.  xiv.  541 

opens  second  parallel  before  Yorktown . vol.  xiv.  594 

society  of  the  Cincinnati . vol.  xv.  35 

at  Washington’s  inauguration . vol.  xv.  116 

Stevens,  General,  joins  Gates . vol.  xiv.  344 

at  the  council  of  war . vol.  xiv.  346 

at  the  battle  of  Camden . vol.  xiv.  347 


580 


Ir?dex 


takes  charge  of  Morgan’s  prisoners.  . . vol.  xiv.  481 

at  Guilford  Court-house . . . vol.  xiv.  499 

orders  a  retreat . vol.  xiv.  500 

SteWart,  Captain,  assists  Braddock . vol.  xii.  202 

accompanies  Braddock . vol.  xii.  204 

Stewart,  Colonel,  at  Monmouth  Court-house . vol.  xiv.  180 

accompanies  Wayne . .  . vol.  xiv.  455 

Stewart,  Colonel,  at  Guilford  Court-house . vol.  xiv.  501 

Stickney,  Colonel,  at  Bennington . vol.  xiii.  511 

Stirling,  Lord,  in  command  at  New  York . vol.  xiii.  73 

report  on  the  condition  of  the  Highlands . vol.  xiii.  87 

moves  against  General  Grant . vol.  xiii.  174 

holds  him  in  check . vol.  xiii.  175 

attacks  Cornwallis . vol.  xiii.  178 

surrenders  himself . vol.  xiii.  179 

exchanged . vol.  xiii.  215 

resolves  to  entrap  Rogers . vol.  xiii.  233 

to  cross  at  King’s  Ferry . vol.  xiii.  249 

crosses  the  Hudson . vol.  xiii.  251 

falls  back  on  Trenton . vol.  xiii.  293 

at  Matouchin  Church . vol.  xiii.  426 

driven  in  by  Cornwallis . vol.  xiii.  426 

in  favor  of  attacking  Philadelphia . vol.  xiv.  83 

correspondence  with  Wilkinson  on  the  Conway  letter.... vol.  xiv.  122 

appeases  the  honor  of  Wilkinson . vol.  xiv.  128 

at  Monmouth  Court-house . . . vol.  xiv.  181 

encamps  at  New  Bridge . vol.  xiv.  254 

unsuccessful  descent  on  Staten  Island . vol.  xiv.  267 

retreats  to  Elizabethtown . vol.  xiv.  268 

St.  John’s,  Canada,  expedition  against  . vol.  xii.  420 

surprised  by  Arnold . vol.  xii.  420 

General  Schuyler  appears  before  it . vol.  xii.  517 

invested  by  Montgomery. . . . . vol.  xii.  521 

its  resistance . vol.  xii.  521 

capitulates . vol.  xii.  523 

St.  John’s  Island,  landing  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton .  . vol.  xiv.  286 

St.  Leger,  Colonel,  to  make  a  diversion . vol.  xiii.  439 

invests  Fort  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  495 

summons  it  to  surrender . vol.  xiii.  495 

tries  to  intimidate  the  garrison . vol.  xiii.  501 

makes  regular  approaches . vol.  xiii.  502 

presses  the  siege .  . . . vol.  xiii.  516 

obliged  to  decamp . vol.  xiii.  518 

ST.  Luc  commands  Indians . vol.  xiii.  486 

reputation . . . vol.  xiii.  507 

St.  Lucia,  expedition  against . vol.  xiv.  223 

Stobo,  Captain,  left  as  hostage . vol.  xii.  145 

letter  from  Fort  Duquesne . vol.  xii.  151 

imprisoned  in  Quebec . . . vol.  xii.  157 


Ipdex 


581 


his  escape . vol.  xii.  157 

obtains  grant  of  land . (note)  vol.  xii.  358 

Stockwell,  Lieutenant,  guides  Colonel  Willett . vol.  xiii.  502 

Stoddart,  Captain,  and  Wilkinson . vol.  xiv.  125 

Stonington  cannonaded  . vol.  xii.  528 

Stony  Point,  landing  of  the  British . vol.  xiii.  565 

being  fortified . vol.  xiv.  238 

taken  by  the  British . vol.  xiv.  239 

position  of . vol.  xiv.  244 

garrison  of . . . vol.  xiv.  244 

plan  of  attack . vol.  xiv.  245 

stormed  by  the  Americans . vol.  xiv.  246 

killed  and  wounded . vol.  xiv.  247 

conduct  of  the  Americans . vol.  xiv.  247 

evacuated  and  destroyed  by  the  Americans . vol.  xiv.  248 

fortified  and  garrisoned  by  the  British . vol.  xiv.  249 

St.  Pierre,  Chevalier  Legardeur  de,  reception  of  Washington.. vol.  xii.  100 

gives  Washington  his  reply  to  Governor  Dinwiddie . vol.  xii.  103 

his  reply  to  Governor  Dinwiddie . . . vol.  xii.  113 

commands  Canadians  and  Indians . vol.  xii.  218 

slain . vol.  xii.  220 

Stringer,  Dr.,  dismissed . vol.  xiii.  384 

St.  Simon,  Marquis,  lands  with  troops . vol.  xiv.  571 

embarks  his  troops . vol.  xiv.  608 

Stuart,  Colonel,  joins  Lord  Rawdon . vol.  xiv.  550 

encamps  on  the  Congaree . . . vol.  xiv.  556 

moves  to  Eutaw  Springs . .  vol.  xiv.  586 

battle  of  Eutaw  Springs . vol.  xiv.  587 

decamps . . . vol.  xiv.  589 

retreats  to  Monk’s  Corner . vol.  xiv.  590 

Stuart,  Dr.,  to  Washington  on  sectional  interests . vol.  xiv.  171 

to  Washington  on  ceremonials . . . vol.  xiv.  180 

Stuart,  Gilbert,  portrait  of  Washington . ...  ..(appendix)  vol.  xv.  415 

Sugar  Hill  commands  Ticonderoga . vol.  xiii.  448 

fortified  by  the  British . vol.  xiii.  449 

Sugar  House . vol.  xiii.  372 

Sulgrave,  “Washington’s  Manor”  described . vol.  xii.  33 

Sullivan,  General,  under  Major-general  Lee . vol.  xii.  482 

sent  to  Portsmouth . vol.  xii.  533 

dispatched  to  New  York . vol.  xiii.  73 

dispatched  to  Canada . ..vol.  xiii.  77 

takes  command . vol.  xiii.  99 

to  Washington,  hopeful . vol.  xiii.  100 

mistakes  the  enemy’s  force . vol.  xiii.  102 

to  Washington  on  Thompson’s  expedition . vol.  xiii.  103 

retreats. . . vol.  xiii.  104 

joined  by  Arnold . vol.  xiii.  104 

embarks  for  Crown  Point . vol.  xiii.  105 

requests  leave  of  absence . vol.  xiii.  137 


582 


Ipdex 


tenders  his  resignation . . . . . vol.  xiii.  143 

in  temporary  command . . vol.  xiii.  165 

reconnoiters . vol.  xiii.  173 

retreats . vol.  xiii.  176 

taken  prisoner . . vol.  xiii.  176 

at  Vealtown . . vol.  xiii.  299 

hastens  to  join  Washington . vol.  xiii.  301 

joins  Washington . vol.  xiii.  307 

ordered  to  advance  and  charge . . vol.  xiii.  318 

attacks  Trenton . vol.  xiii.  318 

at  Morristown . vol.  xiii.  356 

behind  the  Sourland  Hills . vol.  xiii.  424 

to  advance  to  the  Highlands . . vol.  xiii.  430 

joins  Washington . vol.  xiii.  525 

attempts  to  surprise  the  enemy . . . vol.  xiii.  525 

at  Brandywine . vol.  xiii.  527 

at  the  battle  of  Germantown . vol.  xiv.  48 

describes  Washington  at  Germantown . vol.  xiv.  53 

to  attack  Rhode  Island . vol.  xiv.  199 

moves  from  Providence . vol.  xiv.  201 

occupies  abandoned  works . vol.  xiv.  201 

before  Newport . vol.  xiv.  203 

at  Honeyman’s  Hill . vol.  xiv.  203 

protest  against  D’Estaing’s  proceeding  to  Boston . vol.  xiv.  204 

general  protest  against  the  departure  of  the  French  fleet,  vol.  xiv.  205 

retreats  to  Batt’s  Hill  . vol.  xiv.  207 

commands  expedition  against  the  Indians . vol.  xiv.  237 

battle  at  Newtown . vol.  xiv.  237 

lays  the  Indian  country  waste . vol.  xiv.  237 

thanked  by  Congress . vol.  xiv.  238 

retires  from  the  service . vol.  xiv.  238 

Hamilton’s  talent  for  finance . vol.  xiv.  464 

Sullivan’s  Island  fortified . vol.  xiii.  146 

battle  of . vol.  xiii.  148 

bravery  of  troops . vol.  xiii.  149 

British  account . vol.  xiii.  149 

deficiency  of  powder . vol.  xiii.  149 

enemy  repulsed . vol.  xiii.  150 

loss  of  the  Americans . vol.  xiii.  151 

Sumner,  General,  at  Eutaw  Springs . vol.  xiv.  586 

gives  way . . . vol.  xiv.  586 

Sumter,  Thomas,  character  and  services . vol.  xiv.  357 

chosen  leader . . . vol.  xiv.  357 

attacks  the  British  at  Rocky  Mount . vol.  xiv.  358 

successful  attack  on  Hanging  Rock . vol.  xiv.  358 

sends  to  Gates  for  re-enforcements . vol.  xiv.  360 

reduces  redoubt  on  the  Wateree . .v . vol.  xiv.  362 

surprised  by  Tarleton . vol.  xiv.  363 

again  in  the  field . vol.  xiv.  437 


Ipdex 


583 


menaces  the  British  posts . vo3.  xiv.  437 

fight  at  Black  Stock  Hill . vol.  xiv.  438 

detached  to  scour  the  country . .vol.  xiv.  554 

pursues  Colonel  Coates . vol.  xiv.  554 

attack  on  Colonel  Coates . vol.  xiv.  554 

rejoins  Greene . vol.  xiv.  556 

Sutherland,  Major,  commands  at  Paulus  Hook . vol.  xiv.  252 

Symonds,  Colonel,  joins  Stark . vol.  xiii.  511 

T 

Talbot,  Captain,  at  Fort  Mifflin . vol.  xiv.  72 

wounded . vol.  xiv.  73 

Talleyrand  and  the  American  envoys . vol.  xv.  372 

amicable  overtures .  . . . vol.  xv.  386 

Tallmadge,  Major,  and  Andre . vol.  xiv.  373 

escorts  Andre  to  the  Robinson  House . . . vol.  xiv.  384 

fascinated  by  Andre . vol.  xiv.  385 

conversation  with  Andre . vol.  xiv.  385 

predicts  Andre’s  fate . vol.  xiv.  386 

to  Colonel  Webb,  commiserating  Andre . vol.  xiv.  393 

account  of  Andre’s  execution . vol.  xiv.  401 

successful  exploit . vol.  xiv.  424 

TANACHARissoN,  a  Seneca  chief . vol.  xii.  71 

accompanies  Washington  to  the  French  post. . vol.  xii.  SO 

letter  to  Washington . vol.  xii.  121 

prepares  for  battle . ' . vol.  xii.  128 

opinion  of  white  men’s  warfare . . . vol.  xii.  147 

his  death . vol.  xii.  148 

TARLETON,  Lieutenant-colonel  Banastre,  on  the  expedition  to 

South  Carolina . vol.  xiv.  283 

description  of . vol.  xiv.  284 

obtains  horses  for  his  dragoons . vol.  xiv.  285 

joins  General  Patterson . vol.  xiv.  304 

surprises  General  Huger’s  camp . vol.  xiv.  308 

surprises  Americans  at  Laneau’s  Ferry . vol.  xiv.  310 

pursues  Colonel  Buford . vol.  xiv.  312 

butchery  at  Waxhaw . vol.  xiv.  314 

his  excuse . vol.  xiv.  315 

pursues  Sumter . vol.  xiv.  348 

surprises  Sumter . vol.  xiv.  350 

in  quest  of  Marion . vol.  xiv.  437 

fight  at  Black  Stock  Hill . . . vol.  xiv.  438 

sent  in  quest  of  Morgan . vol.  xiv.  471 

at  Pacolet . vol.  xiv.  472 

battle  of  the  Cowpens . vol.  xiv.  478 

detached  to  Beattie’s  Ford . vol.  xiv.  486 

surprise  at  Tarrant’s  Tavern . vol.  xiv.  487 

recruiting  expedition . vol.  xiv.  493 

recalled  to  Hillsborough . vol.  xiv.  494 


584 


Ipdex 


skirmish  with  Lee . .  ....vol.  xiv.  500 

in  Virginia . vol.  xiv.  541 

skirmish  with  the  French . vol.  xiv.  583 

Tarrant’s  Tavern,  militia  surprised  by  Tarleton . vol.  xiv.  485 

Tash,  Colonel,  ordered  to  Fishkill . vol.  xiii.  223 

Tate,  Captain,  under  Morgan . vol.  xiv.  445 

Taxation  of  American  colonies . vol.  xii.  320 

Ten  Broeck,  General . vol.  xiii.  522 

arrives  on  the  field . vol.  xiv.  26 

Ternant,  M.,  inspector . vol.  xiv.  144 

Tern  ay,  Chevalier  de,  to  command  French  fleet . vol.  xiv.  295 

arrives  at  Newport . ' . vol.  xiv.  327 

Thayer,  commands  Fort  Mifflin . vol.  xiv.  72 

evacuates  the  fort . vol.  xiv.  73 

Thicketty  Run,  Braddock  encamps  at . vol.  xii.  191 

Thomas,  John,  appointed  brigadier-general . vol.  xii.  428 

commands  the  right  wing . vol.  xii.  434 

fortifies  Roxbury  Neck .  ....vol.  xii.  470 

offended  on  a  question  of  rank . vol.  xii.  476 

at  Roxbury .  . vol.  xii.  482 

sets  out  for  Dorchester  Heights . vol.  xiii.  55 

re-enforced . vol.  xiii.  57 

commands  in  Canada . vol.  xiii.  70 

promotion . vol.- xiii.  70 

headquarters  at  Albany . . . vol.  xiii.  70 

arrives  at  Quebec . vol.  xiii.  80 

sends  a  fire-ship . vol.  xiii.  80 

prepares  to  retreat . vol.  xiii.  81 

at  Point  Deschambault . . . vol.  xiii.  82 

retreats  to  the  mouth  of  the  Sorel . vol.  xiii.  99 

illness  and  death . vol.  xiii.  99 

Thompson,  Brigadier-general,  dispatched  to  Canada . vol.  xiii.  77 

at  the  mouth  of  the  Sorel . vol.  xiii.  100 

preparing  to  retreat . . vol.  xiii.  100 

captured  at  Three  Rivers . vol.  xiii.  564 

Thompson,  Colonel,  at  Sullivan’s  Island . . . vol.  xiii.  150 

repulses  Sir  Henry  Clinton . vol.  xiii.  150 

receives  thanks  of  Congress . vol.  xiii.  151 

Three  Mile  Run,  skirmish  at . vol.  xiv.  90 

Throg’s  Neck,  position  of . vol.  xiii.  227 

landing  of  the  British . vol.  xiii.  227 

Ticonderoga,  to  be  reduced . vol.  xii.  260 

dismantled . vol.  xii.  285 

expedition  against . vol.  xii.  415 

surprised  by  Ethan  Allen . vol.  xii.  418 

strength  of  garrison . vol.  xii.  511 

preparations  for  defense . vol.  xiii.  253 

threatened . vol.  xiii.  425 

approach  of  Burgoyne . vol.  xiii.  436 


Ipdex 


585 


thickening  alarms . vol.  xiii.  438 

enemy  advancing . vol.  xiii.  440 

evacuated . vol.  xiii.  443 

Burgoyne  fortifies  Mount  Hope . vol.  xiii.  448 

invested . vol.  xiii.  448 

commanded  by  Sugar  Hill . vol.  xiii.  448 

evacuated . . . vol.  xiii.  450 

effects  of  evacuation . vol.  xiii.  457 

surprised  by  Colonel  Brown . vol.  xiii.  560 

evacuated  by  the  British . vol.  xiv.  44 

Tilghman,  Colonel  Tench,  on  General  Lee . vol.  xiii.  331 

rival  generalship .  vol.  xiii.  344 

enemy  at  Dobb’s  Ferry . vol.  xiii.  347 

to  R.  R.  Livingston,  relative  to  Greene . vol.  xiii.  347 

Washington’s  aid-de-camp . vol.  xiii.  356 

Washington’s  festive  gayety . vol.  xv.  80 

death  of . . . vol.  xv.  85 

Tilley,  M.  de,  detached  to  the  Chesapeake . vol.  xiv.  513 

failure  of  the  enterprise . vol.  xiv.  513 

Townsend,  Brigadier,  in  the  expedition  to  Quebec . vol.  xii.  386 

sent  against  Montcalm . vol.  xii.  388 

in  command . vol.  xii.  388 

advances  to  meet  De  Bougainville . . . vol.  xii.  393 

and  General  Lee . vol.  xii.  393 

Traveling  in  1756 . vol.  xii.  338 

Treat,  Captain,  killed  at  Fort  Mifflin . vol.  xiv.  73 

Treaty  with  France .  . . . vol.  xiv.  153 

ratified  by  Congress . vol.  xiv.  154 

rejoicings  in  the  United  States . vol.  xiv.  154 

with  England  (Jay’s) . vol.  xv.  316 

debated  in  the  Senate . vol.  xv.  318 

ratified . vol.  xv.  319 

public  outcry  against  . . vol.  xv.  330 

Washington  concerning . vol.  xv.  315 

Trent,  Captain  William,  sent  to  expostulate  with  the  French. vol.  xii.  89 

returns  home  unsuccessful . vol.  xii.  90 

dispatched  to  the  frontier . ..vol.  xii.  114 

his  behavior . vol.  xii.  119 

Trenton,  in  command  of  Colonel  Rahl . . . vol.  xiii.  309 

projected  attack  on . vol.  xiii.  313 

alarm  at  an  outpost . vol.  xiii.  318 

march  of  American  troops . vol.  xiii.  318 

picket  driven  in . vol.  xiii.  330 

the  attack . vol.  xiii.  331 

surrender  of  the  Hessians . vol.  xiii.  333 

number  of  prisoners . vol.  xiii.  333 

Tripuet,  Captain,  under  Morgan . vol.  xiv.  433 

Troup,  Major . vol.  xiii.  407 

Truman,  Captain,  with  General  St.  Clair . vol.  xv.  310 


586 


Ipdex 


Trumbull,  Colonel  John,  portraits  of  Washington. (appendix)  vol.  xv.  412 

aid-de-camp  to  Washington . vol.  xii.  477 

his  duties . vol.  xii.  477 

selects  site  for  a  fort .  . vol.  xiii.  137 

arrives  from  Europe . vol.  xv.  162 

message  from  Lafayette  to  Washington . vol.  xv.  163 

Trumbull,  Jonathan,  patriotism . vol.  xii.  473 

to  Washington . vol.  xii.  474 

asks  protection  for  New  London . vol.  xii.  483 

to  Washington  on  desertion  of  Connecticut  troops, . vol.  xii.  556 

aids  General  Lee . vol.  xii.  593 

concerning  Schuyler  and  Gates . vol.  xiii.  139 

patriotism  of . vol.  xiii.  468 

Trumbull,  Joseph,  appointed  Commissary-general . vol.  xii.  482 

to  Gates  concerning  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  139 

to  Gates  concerning  Lee . vol.  xiii.  226 

accusing  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  383 

resigns . vol.  xiii.  474 

Tryon,  Governor,  absent  in  England . vol.  xii.  460 

in  New  York  harbor . vol,  xii.  460 

reception  in  New  York . vol.  xii.  461 

letter  concerning . . .vol.  xiii.  76 

in  New  York  Bay . vol.  xiii.  76 

conspiracy  in  New  York . vol.  xiii.  84 

offers  bounty  to  recruits . vol.  xiii.  107 

on  colonial  loyalty . (note)  vol.  xiii.  109 

conducts  an  expedition  against  Danbury . vol.  xiii.  394 

lands  at  Canepo  Hill . vol.  xiii.  394 

destroys  Danbury . vol.  xiii.  395 

commences  the  retreat . vol.  xiii.  397 

intrenched  at  Ridgefield . vol.  xiii.  398 

reaches  Canepo  Hill . vol.  xiii.  398 

sends  Lord  North’s  bill  to  Washington . vol.  xiv.  152 

commands  expedition  against  Connecticut . . . vol.  xiv.  240 

takes  New  Haven . vol.  xiv.  240 

destroys  Fairfield . vol.  xiv.  241 

devastates  Norwalk . vol.  xiv.  241 

Tupper,  Colonel,  attacks  the  “Rose”  and  “Phoenix” . vol.  xiii.  156 

bravery  of  the  Americans . vol.  xiii.  157 

Turtle  Bay  cannonaded . vol.  xiii.  205 

Tuttle,  Rev.  Joseph  F.,  anecdotes . (note)  vol.  xiv.  266 

SJ 

United  Colonies . vol.  xii.  422 

V 

Valley  Forge,  march  to . vol.  xiv.  94 

disposition  of  the  army . vol.  xiv.  94 


Ipdex 


587 


condition  of  the  troops . vol.  xiv.  133 

described  by  British  historian . vol.  xiv.  133 

account  of  American  troops . vol.  xiv.  159 

Van  Braam,  Jacob,  Washington’s  fencing  master . vol.  xii.  82 

accompanies  Washington  as  interpreter . vol.  xii.  91 

made  captain . vol.  xii.  118 

recommended  by  Washington  for  promotion . vol.  xii.  136 

treats  with  the  French . vol.  xii.  144 

left  as  hostage . vol.  xii.  145 

accused  of  treachery . vol.  xii.  146 

imprisoned  in  Quebec . vol.  xii.  157 

escape  and  recapture . vol.  xii.  157 

sent  to  England . vol.  xii.  157 

obtains  grant  of  land . vol.  xii.  353 

to  Washington,  relating  his  history . vol.  xv.  57 

Van  Cortlandt,  Pierre,  to  General  Lee . vol.  xii.  595 

patriotic  zeal . vol.  xiii.  132 

family . (note)  vol.  xiii.  134 

joins  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  518 

Van  Dechow,  Major,  and  Colonel  Rahl . vol.  xiii.  311 

mortally  wounded . vol.  xiii.  324 

Van  Rensselaer,  General,  drives  back  the  marauders . vol.  xiv.  415 

Van  Schaick,  Colonel . vol.  xiii.  442 

expedition  against  the  Onondagas . vol.  xiv.  236 

Van  Wart,  Isaac,  and  Andre . vol.  xiv.  370 

a-nd  the  death  of  Andre . vol.  xiv.  403 

Varick,  Colonel,  in  correspondence  with  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  548 

fears  Burgoyne  will  decamp . vol.  xiii.  548 

to  Schuyler  on  Burgoyne’s  surrender . vol.  xiv.  40 

Varnum,  General . vol.  xiii.  429 

re-enforces  Washington . vol.  xiv.  57 

at  Red  Bank . vol.  xiv.  72 

on  the  destitution  of  the  troops . vol.  xiv.  95 

meets  Washington . vol.  xv.  98 

Vaughan,  General,  to  move  up  the  Hudson . vol.  xiii.  571 

expedition  up  the  Hudson . vol.  xiv.  78 

Venango . vol.  xii.  97 

Vergennes,  Count  de,  prediction  concerning  the  American 

colonies . vol.  xii.  299 

on  the  battle  of  Germantown . vol.  xiv.  56 

solicits  the  liberation  of  Captain  Asgill . vol.  xiv.  616 

Vermont  admitted  into  the  Union . vol.  xv.  199 

Verplanck’s  Point,  landing  of  the  British . vol.  xiii.  565 

fort  erected  on . . . vol.  xiv.  238 


588 


ipdex 


Villiers,  Captain  de,  sallies  from  Fort  Duquesne . vol.  xii.  142 

his  account  of  the  affair  at  Great  Meadows . vol.  xii.  149 

Vincent,  Earl  St.,  in  the  expedition  against  Quebec . vol.  xii.  286 

Viomenil,  General,  the  Baron  de,  embanked . vol.  xiv.  514 

to  storm  a  redoubt . vol.  xiv.  595 

carries  the  redoubt . vol.  xiv.  596 

Virginia  divided  into  military  districts . vol.  xii.  82 

House  of  Burgesses  convened . vol.  xii.  114 

vote  thanks  to  Washington  and  his  officers . vol.  xii.  146 

grant  £20,000  for  the  public  service . vol.  xii.  154 

recruits,  their  appearance  and  discipline . vol.  xii.  182 

troops,  effective  mode  of  fighting . vol.  xii.  196 

Legislature,  reform  the  militia  laws . vol.  xii.  218 

Assembly,  vote  measures  of  relief . vol.  xii.  235 

troops,  gallant  conduct . vol.  xii.  279 

aristocratical  days . vol.  xii.  302 

style  of  living . . . vol.  xii.  303 

love  of  horses . vol.  xii.  303 

estate,  a  little  empire . vol.  xii.  304 

Legislature,  their  proceedings . vol.  xii.  336 

sympathy  with  the  patriots  of  New  England . vol.  xii.  338 

address  to  the  king . vol.  xii.  339 

dissolved  by  Lord  Botetourt . vol.  xii.  340 

adjourn  to  a  private  house . . vol.  xii.  340 

Peyton  Randolph,  moderator . vol.  xii.  340 

pledge  themselves  not  to  use  or  import  taxed  British 

goods . . vol.  xii.  340 

public  discontents . vol.  xii.  344 

Board  of  Commissioners . vol.  xii.  346 

renewed  public  irritation . vol.  xii.  354 

Legislature,  call  the  Earl  of  Dunmore  to  account . vol.  xii.  355 

prorogued  by  the  Governor . vol.  xii.  355 

convened . vol.  xii.  355 

corresponding  committee . vol.  xii.  356 

aristocracy . vol.  xii.  363 

Legislature  in  session . . . vol.  xii.  364 

splendid  opening . vol.  xii.  364 

indignation  at  the  Boston  Port  Bill . vol.  xii.  364 

protests  against  obnoxious  acts  of  Parliament . vol.  xii.  364 

appoint  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer . vol.  xii.  365 

dissolved . vol.  xii.  365 

adjourn  to  the  Raleigh  tavern . vol.  xii.  365 

resolutions . vol.  xii.  365 

recommend  a  General  Congress . vol,  xii.  366 


Ipdex 


589 


meeting  called  . . . . vol.  xii.  366 

military  preparations . vol.  xii,  397 

second  convention  at  Richmond . vol.  xii.  402 

in  combustion . vol.  xii.  413 

troops  described. . . vol.  xii.  483 

sharpshooting . vol.  xii.  484 

General  Assembly  of,  conduct  toward  Gates . vol.  xiv.  442 

defenseless  state . vol.  xiv.  461 

Assembly,  reception  of  Washington . vol.  xv.  65 

appropriation  to  Washington. . . vol.  xv.  67 

W 

Wadworth,  Colonel,  resigns . vol.  xiv.  265 

Wainwood,  Mr.,  intercepts  a  treasonable  letter . vol.  xii.  529 

Walcott,  Colonel,  referee  for  exchange  of  prisoners . vol.  xiii.  365 

Waldeckers  join  General  Howe . vol.  xiii.  234 

Wales,  Judge,  on  the  bombardment  of  Boston . vol.  xii.  536 

Walker,  Captain,  interprets  for  Steuben . . . vol.  xiv.  158 

Walker,  Thomas,  and  General  Prescott . (note)  vol.  xii.  565 

Wallace,  Captain,  piratical  reputation . vol.  xii.  328 

harasses  Rhode  Island . vol.  xii.  582 

before  New  York . vol.  xiii.  122 

Wallace,  Sir  James,  to  go  up  the  Hudson . vol.  xiii.  571 

Walpole,  Horace,  opinion  of  Washington . vol.  xii.  145 

anecdotes  of  Braddock . vol.  xii.  160 

satirical  remark  on  Braddock’s  delay . vol.  xii.  196 

on  Granville . vol.  xii.  321 

on  Lord  Botetourt . vol.  xii.  337 

and  Horatio  Gates . vol.  xii.  399 

on  Burgoyne’s  plays . vol.  xii.  467 

concerning  General  Gage . vol.  xii.  535 

WALPOLE,  Sir  Robert,  on  American  taxation . vol.  xii.  318 

Wando,  works  thrown  up . vol.  xiv.  306 

Ward,  Artemas,  nominated  general  officer . vol.  xii.  399 

commands  American  camp . vol.  xii.  415 

his  services . vol.  xii.  415 

sustained  in  Congress . vol.  xii.  415 

appointed  major-general . vol.  xii.  427 

elected  second  in  command . .vol.  xii.  427 

headquarters  at  Cambridge . vol.  xii.  433 

disposition  of  troops . vol.  xii.  433 

doubts  expediency  of  occupying  Charlestown  Heights. vol.  xii.  435 

re-enforces  Prescott . vol.  xii.  441 

commands  right  wing . vol.  xii.  482 


590 


Ipdex 


enters  Boston . vol.  xiii.  65 

Ward,  Henry,  transmits  treasonable  letter  to  General 

Greene . vol.  xii.  529 

Warner,  Seth,  Ethan  Allen’s  lieutenant . vol.  xii.  415 

in  the  expedition  against  Ticonderoga . vol.  xii.  416 

surprises  Crown  Point . vol.  xii.  418 

repairs  to  Congress . vol.  xii.  499 

repairs  to  New  York  Convention . vol.  xii.  499 

elected  lieutenant-colonel . vol.  xii.  505 

arrives  at  camp . vol.  xii.  519 

detached  to  intercept  relief . vol.  xii.  521 

attacks  General  Carleton. . . . vol.  xii.  545 

in  St.  Clair’s  retreat . vol.  xii.  545 

at  Manchester . vol.  xiii.  509 

joins  Stark . vol.  xiii.  509 

arrives  at  the  scene  of  action . vol.  xiii.  512 

Warren,  Dr.  Joseph,  member  of  Committee  of  Safety . vol.  xii.  404 

gives  the  alarm . vol.  xii.  404 

arrives  from  Boston . vol.  xii.  408 

doubts  the  expediency  of  occupying  Charlestown 

Heights . vol.  xii.  484 

arrives  at  the  Heights . vol.  xii.  448 

noble  conduct . vol.  xii.  444 

declines  the  command . vol.  xii.  444 

death . ..vol.  xii.  448 

public  loss . vol.  xii.  450 

Washington,  modifications  of  the  name . vol.  xii.  29 

Washington,  Augustine,  father  of  George,  born . vol.  xii.  40 

marries  Jane  Butler,  and  afterward  Mary  Ball . vol.  xii.  41 

his  death . vol.  xii.  45 

Washington,  George,  genealogy  of . ..vol.  xii.  39 

birth  of . vol.  xii.  41 

the  house  of  his  boyhood . vol.  xii.  41 

his  early  education . vol.  xii.  42 

his  martial  spirit . vol.  xii.  44 

school  exercises . vol.  xii.  46 

physical  strength . vol.  xii.  47 

his  code  of  morals  and  manners . vol.  xii.  49 

influence  of  soldiers’  tales . vol.  xii.  50 

obtains  a  midshipman’s  warrant . vol.  xii.  50 

relinquished  on  his  mother’s  remonstrance,  and  returns 

to  school . vol.  xii.  51 

studies  and  exercises . vol.  xii.  51 

school-boy  passion . vol.  xii.  52 


Ipdex 


communication  with  the  French 


reaches 


591 

xii. 

52 

xii. 

55 

xii. 

56 

.vol. 

xii. 

58 

.vol. 

xii. 

59 

xii. 

61 

xii. 

63 

xii. 

63 

xii. 

81 

xii. 

82 

xii. 

83 

xii. 

83 

.vol. 

xii. 

83 

xii. 

83 

xii. 

84 

xii. 

84 

.vol. 

xii. 

86 

xii. 

90 

xii. 

90 

xii. 

91 

xii. 

91 

xii. 

91 

.vol. 

xii. 

93 

xii. 

93 

.vol. 

xii. 

93 

xii. 

94 

.vol. 

xii. 

94 

xii. 

96 

xii. 

96 

xii. 

98 

xii. 

98 

xii. 

98 

xii. 

99 

xii. 

99 

.vol. 

xii. 

99 

.vol. 

xii. 

100 

xii. 

101 

.vol. 

> 

xii. 

102 

xii. 

103 

xii. 

105 

xii. 

106 

xii. 

106 

592 


Ipdex 


Washington,  George,  arrives  at  Murdering  Town . vol.  xii.  107 

engages  an  Indian  guide  to  Shannopins  Town . . .  .vol.  xii.  108 

treachery  of  the  guide . vol.  xii.  109 

crosses  the  Alleghany  River,  imminent  peril . vol.  xii.  110 

arrives  at  Frazier’s . vol.  xii.  110 

appeases  the  anger  of  Queen  Aliquippa . vol.  xii.  Ill 

reaches  Williamsburg . vol.  xii.  Ill 

his  conduct  through  the  expedition . vol.  xii.  112 

made  lieutenant-colonel . vol.  xii.  114 

on  recruiting  service . vol.  xii.  114 

sets  out  with  two  companies  to  the  Fork  of  the  Ohio.  .vol.  xii.  117 

toilful  march  to  Wills’  Creek . vol.  xii.  118 

calls  a  council  of  war . vol.  xii.  120 

writes  to  Governor  Dinwiddie . vol.  xii.  120 

at  Little  Meadows . vol.  xii.  128 

arrives  at  the  Youghiogeny  River . vol.  xii.  125 

remonstrates  against  the  insufficient  pay . vol.  xii.  125 

his  motives  of  action . vol.  xii.  125 

explores  the  river  in  a  canoe . vol.  xii.  125 

letter  from  the  Half-king . vol.  xii.  126 

rumors  of  advancing  French . vol.  xii.  126 

takes  a  position  at  the  Great  Meadows . vol.  xii.  127 

interview  with  the  Half-king . vol.  xii.  128 

surprises  the  French . vol.  xii.  129 

letters  to  Governor  Dinwiddie . vol.  xii.  181 

expects  to  be  attacked . vol.  xii.  133 

his  military  excitement . vol.  xii.  133 

whistling  of  bullets . vol.  xii.  134 

to  Croghan  for  supplies . vol.  xii.  135 

to  Governor  Dinwiddie  in  behalf  of  Van  Braam . vol.  xii.  136 

to  Governor  Dinwiddie  in  reference  to  Captain  Mac- 

kay’s  company . vol.  xii.  137 

delivers  presents  to  the  Indians . vol.  xii.  138 

receives  the  name  of  Connotaucarius . vol.  xii.  139 

to  Governor  Dinwiddie  about  French  prisoners. . . . vol.  xii.  139 

to  Governor  Dinwiddie  concerning  Captain  Mackay. .  ..vol.  xii.  141 

resumes  his  march  to  Redstone  Creek . vol.  xii.  141 

retreats . vol.  xii.  142 

reaches  Great  Meadows . vol.  xii.  142 

strengthens  Fort  Necessity . vol.  xii.  143 

deserted  by  the  Indians . vol.  xii.  144 

attacked  by  French  and  Indians . vol.  xii.  145 

capitulates  to  the  French . vol.  xii.  144 

destroys  military  stores . .vol.  xii.  145 


!i)dex 


593 

Washington,  George,  returns  to  Williamsburg . vol.  xii.  146 

receives  a  vote  of  thanks . vol.  xii.  146 

to  William  Fairfax  about  Croghan  and  Montour . vol.  xii.  147 

rejoins  his  regiment . vol.  xii.  149 

from  Governor  Dinwiddie,  ordering  an  advance  to 

Wills’  Creek . vol.  xii.  152 

his  objections  to  the  project . vol.  xii.  152 

leaves  the  service . vol.  xii.  154 

is  urged  by  Governor  Sharpe  to  continue . vol.  xii.  155 

his  reply . vol.  xii.  155 

visits  his  mother . vol.  xii.  160 

takes  up  his  abode  at  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xii.  160 

his  excitement  at  the  military  preparations  under 

Braddock . vol.  xii.  165 

desires  to  join  as  a  volunteer . vol.  xii.  165 

is  invited  to  join  Braddock’s  staff. . . . vol.  xii.  165 

accepts  the  appointment . vol.  xii.  165 

resists  the  appeals  of  his  mother . vol.  xii.  166 

arrives  at  Braddock’s  headquarters . vol.  xii.  167 

his  reception. . vol.  xii.  167 

his  predictions . vol.  xii.  170 

horses  disabled . vol.  xii.  176 

sent  for  the  military  chest . vol.  xii.  181 

notions  of  frugality  outraged  by  officers  of  Braddock’s 

expedition . vol.  xii.  185 

counsels  Braddock . .vol.  xii.  185 

personal  example . vol.  xii.  187 

his  disappointment  with  their  movements . vol.  xii.  188 

illness . vol.  xii.  188 

rests  at  the  great  crossings  of  the  Youghiogeny . vol.  xii.  189 

from  Captain  Morris . vol.  xii.  193 

rejoins  Braddock . vol.  xii.  193 

cordial  reception . vol.  xii.  194 

delighted  with  the  appearance  of  the  army . vol.  xii.  196 

in  battle . vol.  xii.  198 

danger  and  preservation . vol.  xii.  200 

sent  to  Colonel  Dunbar’s  camp  for  aid . vol.  xii.  202 

returns  with  supplies . vol.  xii.  203 

reads  the  funeral  service  over  Braddock . vol.  xii.  204 

Teaches  Fort  Cumberland . vol.  xii.  206 

to  his  mother  and  brother . vol.  xii.  207 

at  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xii.  210 

to  Augustine . vol.  xii.  210 

prepares  for  the  public  safety . vol.  xii.  212 


594 


Irjdex 


Washington,  George,  his  willingness  to  serve  his  country.. vol.  xii.  212 

declines  to  solicit  the  command . vol.  xii.  212 

to  his  mother . vol.  xii.  213 

appointed  commander-in-chief . vol.  xii.  213 

popularity  among  trials  and  reverses . vol.  xii.  214 

fixes  his  headquarters  at  Winchester . vol.  xii.  214 

panic  at  Winchester . vol.  xii.  215 

his  difficulties . vol.  xii.  216 

“insolence  of  the  people” . vol.  xii.  216 

increased  alarms . vol.  xii.  217 

ludicrous  result . vol.  xii.  218 

appreciation  of  Indian  aid . vol.  xii.  219 

disciplines  his  troops . vol.  xii.  224 

questions  of  precedence . vol.  xii.  225 

sets  out  for  Boston . vol.  xii.  227 

his  equipment . vol.  xii.  228 

aristocratical  order  for  clothes . vol.  xii.  228 

the  journey . vol.  xii.  228 

interview  with  Governor  Shirley . vol.  xii.  228 

disappointment  in  not  being  put  upon  the  regular 

establishment . vol.  xii.  229 

return  to  New  York . vol.  xii.  229 

meets  Miss  Mary  Philipse . vol.  xii.  229 

admiration  of  her . . . vol.  xii.  230 

return  to  Virginia . vol.  xii.  230 

repairs  to  Winchester . vol.  xii.  231 

inhabitants  in  dismay . vol.  xii.  232 

appealed  to  for  protection . vol.  xii.  234 

to  Governor  Dinwiddie . vol.  xii.  234 

attacked  by  the  press . vol.  xii.  235 

his  indignation . vol.  xii.  235 

opposes  the  plan  of  defense  devised  by  Governor  Din¬ 
widdie . vol.  xii.  235 

plan  proposed . vol.  xii.  236 

recommendations  with  respect  to  military  laws . vol.  xii.  236 

superintends  the  measures  taken  for  frontier  security.. vol.  xii.  243 

tour  of  inspection . vol.  xii.  244 

the  irregulars . vol.  xii.  245 

cross  purposes  with  Governor  Dinwiddie . vol.  xii.  246 

to  Mr.  Speaker  Robinson . vol.  xii.  247 

asks  permission  to  visit  Philadelphia . vol.  xii.  251 

to  Lord  Loudoun  in  vindication  of  his  conduct . vol.  xii.  252 

his  reception  by  Lord  Loudoun . vol.  xii.  253 

stationed  at  Winchester . vol.  xii.  254 


Ipdex 


595 


Washington,  George,  misunderstanding  with  Dinwiddie . vol.  xii.  257 


appeal  to  Dinwiddie . vol.  xii.  257 

illness . vol.  xii.  258 

retires  to  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xii.  258 

state  of  health . vol.  xii.  259 

to  Colonel  Stanwix . vol.  xii.  261 

improved  health .  vol.  xii.  260 

resumes  command  of  Fort  Loudoun . vol.  xii.  260 

satisfaction  at  the  decision  to  reduce  Fort  Duquesne . vol.  xii.  261 

to  Colonel  Stanwix . vol.  xii.  261 

to  Major  Halket . vol.  xii.  262 

orders  out  the  militia . vol.  xii.  271 

sets  off  for  Williamsburg . vol.  xii.  271 

meets  Mrs.  Martha  Custis . vol.  xii.  272 

is  smitten . . . vol.  xii.  272 

courtship . vol.  xii.  273 

engagement . vol.  xii.  273 

military  conference . vol.  xii.  273 

arrives  at  Winchester .  . vol.  xii.  274 

ordered  to  Fort  Cumberland . vol.  xii.  274 

alters  the  military  dress . vol.  xii.  274 

annoyed  by  Indians . vol.  xii.  275 

efficiency  of  Indian  scouts . vol.  xii.  275 

discountenances  a  project  of  Colonel  Bouquet . vol.  xii.  275 

proposed  as  representative  to  the  House  of  Burgesses. ..  .vol.  xii.  276 

elected  and  chaired . vol.  xii.  276 

hears  of  Amherst’s  success . vol.  xii.  276 

to  Colonel  Bouquet . vol.  xii.  277 

remonstrates  against  opening  a  new  road . vol.  xii.  277 

ordered  to  Raystown . vol.  xii.  278 

to  Governor  Fauquier . vol.  xii.  282 

given  command  of  a  division . vol.  xii.  283 

arrives  before  Fort  Duquesne . vol.  xii.  284 

occupies  the  ruins  of  Fort  Duquesne . vol.  xii.  284 

resigns  his  commission. . . vol.  xii.  285 

marries  Mrs.  Custis . vol.  xii.  285 

at  the  “White  House” . vol.  xii.  285 

takes  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Burgesses . .vol.  xii.  300 

first  effort . vol.  xii.  300 

intrusted  with  the  care  of  the  property  of  Mrs.  Custis’s 

children . vol.  xii.  301 

intimates  a  desire  to  visit  England . vol.  xii.  301 

happiness  in  retirement . vol.  xii.  302 

vestryman . vol.  xii.  304 

deportment  in  church . . . vol.  xii.  304 

his  fortune . vol.  xii.  305 


horses . vol.  xii.  305 

dogs . vol.  xii.  306 

riding  equipments . (note)  vol.  xii.  306 


596 


Ii)dex 


Washington,  George,  management  of  his  estate . vol.  xii.  807 

business  habits . vol.  xii.  807 

the  reputation  of  his  brand . vol.  xii.  807 

domestic  habits . vol.  xii.  808 

treatment  of  negroes . vol.  xii.  808 

anecdote . vol.  xii.  308 

his  new  plow . vol.  xii.  808 

fox-hunting . vol.  xii.  809 

hunting  dinners . vol.  xii.  809 

hunting  memoranda . (note)  vol.  xii.  310 

fishing  and  shooting  . vol.  xii.  311 

defiant  oysterman . vol.  xii.  311 

duck  shooting . vol.  xii.  312 

chastises  a  poacher . vol.  xii.  312 

aquatic  recreations .  vol.  xii.  312 

visits  to  Annapolis . vol.  xii.  318 

amusements . vol.  xii.  318 

dancing . .......  vol.  xii.  318 

domestic  life . vol.  xii.  314 

project  to  drain  Dismal  Swamp . vol.  xii.  315 

in  the  House  of  Burgesses . vol.  xii.  322 

Stamp  Act  discussed  . vol.  xii.  322 

to  Francis  Dandridge  on  the  Stamp  Act . .....vol.  xii.  324 

management  of  his  estate . vol.  xii.  325 

conduct  toward  his  wife’s  son . vol.  xii.  326 

letters  to  London  agents . vol.  xii.  326 

on  the  Stamp  Act . vol.  xii.  327 

life  at  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xii.  329 

to  George  Mason  on  non-importation . vol.  xii.  334 

introduces  resolutions  of  non-use  and  importation . vol.  xii.  386 

on  Botetourt . vol.  xii.  345 

expedition  to  the  Ohio . vol.  xii.  345 

arrives  at  Fort  Pitt . vol.  xii.  347 

meets  Colonel  Croghan . vol.  xii.  347 

interview  with  Indian  chiefs . vol.  xii.  348 

embarks  on  the  Ohio . vol.  xii.  349 

voyage  down  the  river . vol.  xii.  349 

lands  at  Mingotown  . vol.  xii.  350 

arrives  at  Captema  Creek . vol.  xii.  350 

visits  Kiashuta,  a  Seneca  sachem . ......vol.  xii.  350 

encamps  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanawha.. . . vol.  xii.  351 

visited  by  an  old  sachem . vol.  xii.  352 

escapes  at  Braddock’s  defeat . vol.  xii.  352 

return  home . vol.  xii.  352 

to  Colonel  Muse . vol.  xii.  352 

attends  the  Assembly . vol.  xii.  355 

friendly  relations  with  Lord  Dunmore  . vol.  xii.  356 

affliction  at  the  death  of  Miss  Custis . vol.  xii.  357 

guardianship  of  John  Parke  Custis . vol.  xii.  357 


Ipdex 


597 


Washington,  George,  opposed  to  premature  marriage.. . vol.  xii.  358 

accompanies  John  P.  Custis  to  New  York . vol.  xii.  358 

to  President  Cooper . vol.  xii.  358 

to  Jonathan  Boucher  on  premature  travel . (note)  vol.  xii.  358 

to  Benedict  Calvert  on  premature  marriage . (note)  vol.  xii.  358 

intimacy  with  Lord  Dunmore . vol.  xii.  365 

attends  meetings  at  Williamsburg . vol.  xii.  366 

presides  at  a  political  meeting . vol.  xii.  368 

chairman  of  committee  on  resolutions . vol.  xii.  368 

to  Bryan  Fairfax  on  a  petition  to  the  Throne . vol.  xii.  369 

reports  patriotic  resolutions . vol.  xii.  369 

delegation  to  general  convention . vol.  xii.  370 

to  Fairfax . vol.  xii.  371 

on  non-importation . vol.  xii.  371 

presents  resolutions  to  the  convention . vol.  xii.  371 

enthusiasm . vol.  xii.  372 

delegate  to  the  General  Congress . . . vol.  xii.  372 

to  Bryan  Fairfax . vol.  xii.  372 

sets  out  for  Philadelphia . vol.  xii.  376 

during  prayer  in  the  General  Congress . vol.  xii.  378 

to  Captain  Mackenzie  on  independence . vol.  xii.  384 

returns  to  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xii.  385 

reviews  military  companies . vol.  xii.  400 

visit  of  Lee  and  Gates . vol.  xii.  400 

fox  hunting . vol.  xii.  400 

attends  convention  at  Richmond . vol.  xii.  402 

one  of  a  committee  to  prepare  for  war . vol.  xii.  402 

offers  to  command  a  company . vol.  xii.  402 

concerning  the  retreat  from  Concord . vol.  xii.  411 

hears  of  the  affair  at  Lexington .  .vol.  xii.  413 

to  George  William  Fairfax . vol.  xii.  413 

hopes  of  a  reconciliation . vol.  xii.  421 

chairman  of  committees  on  military  affairs . vol.  xii.  422 

urged  as  commander-in-chief . vol.  xii.  423 

modesty . vol.  xii.  424 

opposed . vol.  xii.  426 

elected  commander-in-chief . vol.  xii.  426 

acceptance . vol.  xii.  426 

to  his  wife . vol.  xii.  428 

to  his  brother . vol.  xii.  429 

receives  his  commission . vol.  xii.  429 

beau  ideal  of  a  commander . yol.  xii.  430 

sets  out  from  Philadelphia . vol.  xii.  453 

harmony  with  Schuyler . vol.  xii.  453 

news  of  the  battle  of  Bunker’s  Hill . vol.  xii.  455 

determines  to  intrust  Schuyler  with  the  command  of 

New  York . vol.  xii.  461 

at  Newark . vol.  xii.  461 

reply  to  President  Livingston’s  address . vol.  xii.  462 


598 


Ir>dex 


Washington,  George,  instructions  to  General  Schuyler . vol.  xii.  463 

leaves  New  York .  ....vol.  xii.  464 

at  the  American  camp . vol.  xii.  464 

effect  of  personal  appearance . vol.  xii.  464 

to  Governor  Trumbull . . vol.  xii.  465 

takes  command  of  the  army . vol.  xii.  465 

visits  the  American  posts . vol.  xii.  466 

at  Prospect  Hill . vol.  xii.  468 

reconnoiters  the  British  posts . vol.  xii.  469 

opinion  of  American  troops . .  vol.  xii.  469 

to  the  President  of  Congress . vol.  xii.  472 

requests  a  supply  of  money . vol.  xii.  472 

advises  hunting  shirts  for  the  troops . vol.  xii.  472 

apology  for  Massachusetts  troops . vol.  xii.  473 

headquarters . (note)  vol.  xii.  474 

style  of  living  in  camp .  vol.  xii.  476 

friendship  for  Joseph  Reed . vol.  xii.  477 

summons  council  of  war . ...vol.  xii.  479 

improves  the  defenses . vol.  xii.  480 

compliments  General  Putnam . vol.  xii.  480 

distribution  of  the  army . vol.  xii.  482 

respect  for  religion . vol.  xii.  483 

declines  to  detach  troops . vol.  xii.  485 

reply  to  General  Assembly  of  Massachusetts . vol.  xii.  485 

reply  to  Governor  of  Connecticut . vol.  xii.  485 

distresses  Boston . vol.  xii.  486 

scarcity  of  powder . vol.  xii.  487 

to  Governor  Cooke . vol.  xii.  488 

arrival  of  supplies . vol.  xii.  488 

poverty  in  ammunition . vol.  xii.  488 

correspondence  with  General  Gage  on  the  treatment  of 

prisoners . vol.  xii.  491 

confines  British  officers  in  jail . vol.  xii.  491 

revokes  the  order . vol.  xii.  492 

to  Schuyler  recommending  patience . vol.  xii.  504 

*  reception  of  Indians . vol.  xii.  506 

to  Schuyler . vol.  xii.  508 

to  Schuyler  recommending  the  attack  of  Quebec . vol.  xii.  509 

endeavors  to  bring  on  an  engagement . vol.  xii.  511 

on  the  reluctance  of  the  British  to  engage . vol.  xii.  512 

apprehension  of  a  winter’s  campaign . vol.  xii.  513 

summons  a  council . vol.  xii.  513 

to  President  of  Congress . vol.  xii.  514 

detaches  troops  for  the  expedition  against  Canada . vol.  xii.  515 

to  Arnold  on  the  conduct  of  the  expedition . vol.  xii.  516 

to  Arnold  concerning  Lord  Chatham’s  son . vol.  xii.  517 

opinion  of  General  Wooster .  .  vol.  xii.  519 

concern  at  Schuyler’s  illness . vol.  xii.  519 

to  Schuyler  concerning  Arnold . vol.  xii.  519 


Ipdex 


599 


Washington,  George,  solicitude  for  Arnold . vol.  xii.  530 

on  Allen’s  imprudence . vol.  xii.  526 

to  Schuyler  about  Arnold . vol.  xii.  536 

treasonable  letter . vol.  xii.  529 

orders  the  equipment  of  vessels . vol.  xii.  531 

on  the  destruction  of  Falmouth . vol.  xii.  533 

measures  of  retaliation . vol.  xii.  533 

to  Governor  Trumbull  on  the  seizure  of  Tories. . vol.  xii.  539 

orders  General  Sullivan  to  seize  public  enemies . vol.  xii.  540 

want  of  artillery  and  ordnance  stores . vol.  xii.  540 

to  the  President  of  Congress  on  the  =  re-enlistment  of 

troops . vol.  xii.  542 

to  the  same  on  the  want  of  public  spirit . vol.  xii.  542 

to  Reed . vol.  xii.  542 

confidence  in  Arnold .  vol.  xii.  549 

to  Schuyler  on  Arnold  and  the  conquest  of  Canada. . vol.  xii.  554 

to  Schuyler  on  his  resigning . vol.  xii.  556 

summons  a  council  to  provide  for  defense  of  the  lines. ..  .vol.  xii.  559 

to  Governor  Trumbull,  on  the  desertion  of  Connecticut 

troops . vol.  xii.  559 

arrival  of  captured  munitions . vol.  xii.  560 

orders  restoration  of  pillage . vol.  xii.  561 

to  General  Howe,  on  the  treatment  of  Ethan  Allen  . . vol.  xii.  562 

to  Congress  concerning  Allen . vol.  xii.  564 

to  Levi  Allen . vol.  xii.  564 

prepares  to  bombard  Boston . vol.  xii.  565 

correspondence  with  Lund  Washington . vol.  xii.  569 

asks  Mrs.  Washington  to  join  him  at  camp . vol.  xii.  569 

to  Lund  Washington  on  his  affairs . vol.  xii.  569 

directions  concerning  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xii.  570 

to  Reed  on  invitations  to  dinner . vol.  xii.  571 

attentions  to  General  Court . vol.  xii.  572 

relieved  from  his  perplexity . vol.  xii.  572 

religious  duties . vol.  xii.  573 

quells  a  brawl . vol.  xii.  574 

to  Arnold  concerning  capture  of  Quebec . vol.  xii.  579 

on  Lord  Dunmore . vol.  xii.  580 

to  Governor  Cooke  on  Lee’s  proceedings  in  Rhode  Island. vol.  xii.  582 

appeals  to  the  soldiers’  patriotism . vol.  xii.  584 

cheering  news  from  Canada . vol.  xii.  586 

strength  of  the  army . vol.  xii.  586 

to  Reed  on  the  critical  state  of  the  army . vol.  xii.  587 

anxious  vigils,  to  Reed . vol.  xii.  589 

to  Reed  concerning  attack  on  Boston . vol.  xii.  590 

from  Knox  . vol.  xii.  590 

apprehensions  for  the  safety  of  New  York .  vol.  xii.  592 

authorizes  Lee  to  carry  out  his  plans . vol.  xii.  593 

dispatches  from  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  25 

to  Schuyler  on  the  death  of  Montgomery . vol.  xiii.  39 


600 


iQdex 


Washington,  George,  solicitude  about  New  York . vol.  xiii.  30 

to  Lee  relative  to  tories . • . vol.  xiii.  44 

to  Lee  on  Captain  Parker’s  passivity . vol.  xiii.  45 

a»xiety  to  attack  Boston  . vol.  xiii.  49 

to  Reed,  confidential . vol.  xiii.  49 

to  Reed  in  favor  of  attacking  Boston . vol.  xiii.  49 

proposes  an  attack  in  council . vol.  xiii.  50 

arrival  of  Knox . vol.  xiii.  50 

active  measures . vol.  xiii.  51 

public  gloom . vol.  xiii.  51 

plan  of  operations . . . vol.  xiii.  52 

fortifies  Dorchester  Heights . vol.  xiii.  53 

effect  on  the  enemy  of  the  fortification  of  Dorchester 

Heights . vol.  xiii.  57 

address  to  his  troops . vol.  xiii.  59 

communication  from  the  “selectmen”  of  Boston . vol.  xiii.  61 

enters  Boston . vol.  xiii.  65 

on  Howe’s  retreat . vol.  xiii.  65 

throws  up  works  on  Fort  Hill . vol.  xiii.  66 

national  applause . vol.  xiii.  66 

receives  a  vote  of  thanks— gold  medal  commemorative 

of  the  evacuation  of  Boston . vol.  xiii.  67 

on  the  destination  of  the  British . vol.  xiii.  68 

to  Lee  on  his  appointment  to  command  the  Southern 

Department  . vol.  xiii.  70 

on  the  character  of  Lee . vol.  xiii.  71 

sends  detachments  to  New  York . vol.  xiii.  73 

arrives  at  New  York . vol.  xiii.  74 

to  the  commi&tee  of  safety . vol.  xiii.  76 

occupations . vol.  xiii.  76 

to  Congress  on  the  defense  of  Canada  and  New  York. ...vol.  xiii.  77 

secret  designs  of  the  enemy . .  ...  .vol.  xiii.  78 

to  Schuyler  on  affairs  in  Canada . vol.  xiii.  79 

to  Schuyler  on  charges  against . vol.  xiii.  85 

sends  Gates  to  Congress . vol.  xiii.  87 

summoned  before  Congress . vol.  xiii.  88 

general  orders . vol.  xiii.  88 

instructions  to  Putnam . vol.  xiii.  89 

leaves  New  York . vol.  xiii.  89 

guest  of  Hancock . vol.  xiii  89 

conferences  with  Congress . vol.  xiii.  90 

conferences  with  George  Clinton . vol.  xiii.  91 

affairs  in  Canada . vol.  xiii.  95 

to  Schuyler  concerning  Indians . . .  ...  .vol.  xiii.  96 

to  Augustine— bloody  prospects . vol.  xiii.  96 

reconnoiters  King’s  Bridge . vol.  xiii.  97 

reply  to  Sullivan . vol.  xiii.  100 

to  Congress  on  Sullivan . vol.  xiii.  101 

conspiracy  in  New  York  . .........vol.  xiii.  106 


Ii)dex 


601 


Washington,  George,  arrival  of  British  troops . vol.  xiii.  Ill 

general  orders . vol.  xiii.  112 

calls  upon  the  troops  to  prepare  for  a  momentous  con¬ 
flict  . vol.  xiii.  113 

concerning  Amboy  and  Staten  Island . vol.  xiii.  117 

joy  at  the  declaration  of  independence . vol.  xiii.  119 

causes  it  to  be  read  at  the  head  of  each  brigade . vol.  xiii.  119 

censures  the  destruction  of  the  statue  of  George  III . vol.  xiii.  119 

to  Clinton  on  the  safety  of  the  Highlands . vol.  xiii.  122 

advises  precautions  against  the  tories . vol.  xiii.  123 

British  recognition  of  his  rank .  . vol.  xiii.  127 

receives  Colonel  Patterson . vol.  xiii.  129 

declines  the  letter  to  George  Washington,  Esq . vol.  xiii.  130 

conduct  applauded . vol.  xiii.  131 

sectional  jealousies . vol.  xiii.  131 

on  Connecticut  light-horse . vol.  xiii.  140 

to  Governor  Trumbull  on  the  Connecticut  troops . vol.  xiii.  141 

concerning  Connecticut  light-horse . vol.  xiii.  141 

to  Schuyler  on  Sir  Peter  Parker’s  repulse . vol.  xiii.  152 

general  order  concerning  Sir  Peter  Parker’s  repulse . vol.  xiii.  152 

general  order  relative  to  sectional  jealousies . vol.  xiii.  158 

to  the  army  on  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  and  blas¬ 
phemy . vol.  xiii.  159 

to  Mercer  for  re-enforcements . vol.  xiii.  160 

general  orders  on  the  approach  of  the  struggle.,  .(note)  vol.  xiii.  161 

preparations  for  the  conflict . ..vol.  xiii.  161 

paternal  cares . vol.  xiii.  162 

plans  of  defense . vol.  xiii.  164 

landing  of  the  British  on  Long  Island .  vol.  xiii.  167 

sends  re-enforcements  to  Brooklyn . vol.  xiii.  167 

exhortation  to  the  troops . vol.  xiii.  167 

concerning  the  burning  of  New  York . vol.  xiii.  168 

urges  the  removal  of  the  helpless . vol.  xiii.  169 

crosses  to  Brooklyn . vol.  xiii.  169 

instructions  to  Putnam . vol.  xiii.  169 

re-enforces  Long  Island . vol.  xiii.  170 

visits  Brooklyn . vol.  xiii.  171 

returns  to  New  York . vol.  xiii.  171 

at  Brooklyn . vol.  xiii.  175 

American  left  turned . vol.  xiii.  176 

prepares  to  retreat . vol.  xiii.  176 

plan  of  retreat . vol.  xiii.  177 

and  General  Mifflin’s  premature  retreat . vol.  xiii.  187 

successful  retreat . vol.  xiii.  189 

to  President  of  Congress  on  distressed  situation  of  the 

army . vol.  xiii.  190 

question  of  destroying  New  York . vol.  xiii.  191 

removes  the  sick  and  wounded . vol.  xiii.  193 

concerning  desertions . vol.  xiii.  194 

Vol.  XV. — ***26 


602 


Ir>dex 


Washington,  George,  to  President  of  Congress  on  the  inten¬ 
tions  of  the  enemy . vol.  xiii.  200 

defensive  policy . vol.  xiii.  201 

question  of  abandoning  New  York . vol.  xiii.  202 

plan  adopted . vol.  xiii.  203 

prepares  for  evacuation . vol.  xiii.  204 

baggage  removed  to  King’s  Bridge . vol.  xiii.  205 

British  crossing  the  river . vol.  xiii.  206 

rage  at  the  cowardice  of  the  troops . vol.  xiii.  206 

perilous  situation . vol.  xiii.  207 

headquarters . vol.  xiii.  209 

fortifies  the  approaches  to  his  camp . vol.  xiii.  210 

on  the  conduct  of  his  troops . vol.  xiii.  210 

interview  with  Hamilton . vol.  xiii.  210 

successful  skirmish . vol.  xiii.  211 

general  orders,  reference  to  Knowlton . vol.  xiii.  212 

on  the  reorganization  of  the  army . ....vol.  xiii.  214 

exchange  of  prisoners . vol.  xiii.  215 

uncertainty  of  the  enemy’s  intentions . vol.  xiii.  217 

ceaseless  vigilance . vol.  xiii.  218 

reconnoiterings . vol.  xiii.  218 

to  Congress  on  the  safety  of  the  Highlands . vol.  xiii.  218 

measures  taken . vol.  xiii.  218 

accident  on  board  his  yacht . vol.  xiii.  224 

enemy  lands  at  Throg’s  Neck . vol.  xiii.  226 

reconnoiters  Throg’s  Neck . vol.  xiii.  228 

throws  up  works . vol.  xiii.  227 

receives  Lee . vol.  xiii.  229 

council  of  war . vol.  xiii.  230 

forms  four  divisions  of  the  army . vol.  xiii.  232 

at  White  Plains . vol.  xiii.  235 

offers  reward  for  troopers . vol.  xiii.  235 

movement  of  the  enemy. ...  . vol.  xiii.  235 

draws  his  troops  into  White  Plains . vol.  xiii.  237 

situation  of  the  camp . vol.  xiii.  237 

reconnoitering . vol.  xiii.  238 

British  advance . vol.  xiii.  239 

sick  and  wounded  removed . vol.  xiii.  241 

strengthens  his  position . vol.  xiii.  241 

condition  of  troops . vol.  xiii.  243 

shifts  position  to  Northcastle . vol.  xiii.  244 

British  retire . vol.  xiii.  244 

to  General  William  Livingston,  intentions  of  the  enemy,  vol.  xiii.  246 

advises  the  evacuation  of  Fort  Washington . vol.  xiii.  248 

advises  removal  of  stores  from  Fort  Lee . vol.  xiii.  249 

disposition  of  troops . vol.  xiii.  250 

instructions  to  Lee . vol.  xiii.  250 

at  Peekskill . vol.  xiii.  251 

Visits  the  Highland  posts. . vol.  xiii.  251 


Ipdex 


603 


Washington,  George,  reconnoissance . vol.  xiii.  252 

to  Lee  respecting  new  levies . vol.  xiii.  252 

leaves  Heath  in  command  of  the  Highlands . vol.  xiii.  253 

intelligence  from  the  Northern  army . vol.  xiii.  253 

crosses  the  Hudson . vol.  xiii.  261 

arrives  at  Fort  Lee . vol.  xiii.  263 

question  of  abandoning  Fort  Washington . vol.  xiii.  263 

urges  the  increase  of  ordnance  and  artillery . vol.  xiii.  262 

attack  on  Fort  Washington . vol.  xiii.  265 

Hessian  cruelties,  anecdote.. . vol.  xiii.  268 

sends  a  message  to  Magaw . vol.  xiii.  268 

surrender  of  Fort  Washington. . . . vol.  xiii.  269 

to  Lee  on  the  defense  of  the  Highlands . vol.  xiii.  269 

to  Augustine  on  the  loss  of  Fort  Washington . vol.  xiii.  270 

gloomy  anticipations . vol.  xiii.  270 

arrives  at  Fort  Lee . vol.  xiii.  273 

retreats  from  Fort  Lee . vol.  xiii.  273 

crosses  the  Hackensack  River . vol.  xiii.  273 

to  Lee,  ordering  him  to  cross  the  Hudson. . . . vol.  xiii.  278 

further  retreat . . vol.  xiii.  276 

Lee  to  Colonel  Reed .  .vol.  xiii.  277 

correspondence  with  Lee  on  crossing  the  Hudson . vol.  xiii.  280 

to  Lee  on  his  delay.. . vol.  xiii.  282 

retreats  to  New  Brunswick . vol.  xiii.  283 

Lee’s  letter  to  Reed . vol.  xiii.  284 

to  Reed,  inclosing  letter  of  Lee . vol.  xiii.  285 

concerning  Reed . .  .(note)  vol.  xiii.  286 

at  Trenton . vol.  xiii.  287 

to  Congress  explaining  his  retreat . vol.  xiii.  287 

indomitable  spirit . vol.  xiii.  289 

at  Trenton . vol.  xiii.  292 

returns  to  Princeton . vol.  xiii.  294 

crosses  the  Delaware . vol.  xiii.  294 

to  Congress  on  the  enemy’s  plans . vol.  xiii.  295 

to  Lee  on  the  peril  of  Philadelphia . vol.  xiii.  296 

amount  of  force .  . vol.  xiii.  296 

to  Trumbull  hopefully . vol.  xiii.  297 

to  Lee,  urging  speed . vol.  xiii.  299 

retreat  across  the  Jerseys . vol.  xiii.  304 

moral  qualities .  vol.  xiii.  304 

to  Augustine  on  Lee’s  capture . vol.  xiii.  306 

to  Augustine  on  the  critical  state  of  affairs . vol.  xiii.  307 

granted  new  powers . vol.  xiii.  307 

recruitment  of  the  army . vol.  xiii.  307 

meditates  a  coup  de  main . vol.  xiii.  309 

disposition  of  the  enemy . vol.  xiii.  309 

plan  of  attack . vol.  xiii.  314 

to  Colonel  Reed  concerning  the  projected  attack  on 

Trenton . vol.  xiii.  314 


604 


Ipdex 


Washington,  George,  to  Reed  relative  to  the  time  chosen . vol.  xiii.  315 

from  Gates . . . vol.  xiii.  316 

crosses  the  Delaware. . . . . vol.  xiii.  317 

pushes  forward  to  Trenton . vol.  xiii.  317 

march  of  troops . * . vol.  xiii.  318 

anecdote . vol.  xiii.  320 

advances  with  the  artillery . vol.  xiii.  321 

captures  the  Hessians . vol.  xiii.  322 

imminent  hazard . vol.  xiii.  325 

visits  Rahl . vol.  xiii.  326 

described  by  Hessian  officer . vol.  xiii.  327 

by  another . vol.  xiii.  328 

follows  up  the  blow  at  Trenton . vol.  xiii.  333 

troops  begin  to  cross  the  Delaware . . vol.  xiii.  334 

re-enlistments . vol.  xiii.  335 

to  Robert  Morris  for  money . vol.  xiii.  335 

invested  with  dictatorial  powers . vol.  xiii.  335 

acknowledgment  to  Congress . vol.  xiii.  336 

critical  situation . ...vol.  xiii.  338 

takes  position  on  the  Assunpink . vol.  xiii.  339 

during  the  attack . vol.  xiii.  340 

desperate  situation . vol.  xiii.  341 

bold  expedient . vol.  xiii.  341 

council  of  war . vol.  xiii.  342 

determines  to  attack  Princeton . vol.  xiii.  341 

the  army  begins  its  march . vol.  xiii.  342 

at  Princeton . vol.  xiii.  342 

anecdote .  vol.  xiii.  344 

rallies  the  troops . vol.  xiii.  343 

loss  of  General  Mercer . vol.  xiii.  343 

pushes  for  Morristown . vol.  xiii.  347 

orders  Putnam  to  Crosswicks . vol.  xiii.  349 

to  Heath  concerning  the  enemy’s  panic . vol.  xiii.  350 

to  Heath,  repeating  orders  . vol.  xiii.  350 

to  Major-general  Lincoln,  ordering  an  advance  on  New 

York . vol.  xiii.  350 

triumphant  close  of  the  campaign . vol.  xiii.  352 

the  American  Fabius . vol.  xiii.  353 

to  Cornwallis,  relative  to  Hessians . vol.  xiii.  355 

his  encampment . vol.  xiii.  356 

prohibits  plundering . vol.  xiii.  359 

counter  proclamation . vol.  xiii.  359 

has  the  troops  inoculated . vol.  xiii.  360 

paternal  care  and  sympathy — . vol.  xiii.  361 

contrasted  with  Howe . vol.  xiii.  361 

discourages  vice  and  immorality  . . . vol.  xiii.  362 

to  Sir  M  \lliam  Howe  proposing  an  exchange  for  Lee..  ..vol.  xiii.  364 

on  the  treatment  of  prisoners . . . vol.  xiii.  365 

concerning  treatment  of  Colonel  Campbell . vol.  xiii.  367 


Ir >dex 


605 


Washington,  George,  to  Congress  on  retaliation . ,'...vol.  xiii.  368 

to  Robert  Morris  on  the  same . vol.  xiii.  369 

to  Howe  on  the  prison  ships . vol.  xiii.  371 

calls  for  re-enforcements . vol.  xiii.  374 

to  Governor  Cooke  on  the  necessity  of  union . vol.  xiii.  375 

urges  the  re-enforcement  of  Schuyler .  vol.  xiii.  376 

on  sectional  jealousies .  vol.  xiii.  377 

critical  situation . vol.  xiii.  377 

orders  troops  to  Peekskill . vol.  xiii.  378 

designs  of  the  enemy . vol.  xiii.  379 

to  Gates  on  the  adjutant-generalship . . . vol.  xiii.  386 

on  foreign  officers . ,.vol.  xiii.  389 

reprehends  distinctions  among  the  troops . vol.  xiii.  392 

forms  a  guard . vol.  xiii.  392 

questions  of  rank . vol.  xiii.  393 

to  Henry  Lee  on  Arnold’s  promotion . .vol.  xiii.  394 

to  Arnold  explaining  his  non-promotion . vol.  xiii.  395 

to  Congress  on  injustice  to  Arnold . vol.  xiii.  401 

publicly  thanks  Colonel  Meigs . . . vol.  xiii.  402 

concerning  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  403 

rebukes  Gates . vol.  xiii.  407 

to  McDougall  on  the  fortifications  of  the  Hudson . vol.  xiii.  413 

to  Greene  on  the  forts  . ; . vol.  xiii.  414 

his  foresight . vol.  xiii.  414 

offers  Arnold  the  command  of  the  Hudson . vol.  xiii.  415 

to  McDougall,  describing  Putnam . vol.  xiii.  416 

to  Dr.  Craik  on  his  appointment . vol.  xiii.  416 

at  Middlebrook  . vol.  xiii.  417 

amount  of  force . vol.  xiii.  417 

to  Patrick  Henry  giving  warning . vol.  xiii.  419 

strengthens  his  position . vol.  xiii.  419 

uncertainty  of  British  movements . vol.  xiii.  420 

reply  to  Reed’s  appeal . ..vol.  xiii.  423 

on  Burgoyne’s  reported  designs . vol.  xiii.  425 

speculations  on  the  enemy’s  movements . vol.  xiii.  428 

to  Clinton  and  Putnam  ordering  out  troops . vol.  xiii.  429 

evacuation  of  Ticonderoga . . . . vol.  xiii.  443 

re-enforces  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  444 

news  of  St.  Clair . vol.  xiii.  445 

to  Schuyler  on  St.  Clair . vol.  xiii.  445 

to  Sir  William  Howe  proposing  to  exchange  Prescott 

for  Lee . vol.  xiii.  455 

to  Trumbull  on  the  treatment  of  Prescott . vol.  xiii.  461 

sends  Arnold  to  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  461 

to  Schuyler  hopefully . vol.  xiii.  462 

cautions . vol.  xiii.  463 

to  Schuyler  on  the  enemy’s  force . vol.  xiii.  463 

plans  to  harass  Burgoyne . vol.  xiii.  464 

a  delusive  letter . vol.  xiii.  466 


606 


Ir>dex 


Washington,  George,  sets  out  fo-r  the  Delaware . vol.  xiii.  466 

to  Gates  on  Howe’s  movements . vo).  xiii.  467 

moves  to  Germantown — . vol.  xiii.  468 

orders  and  counter-orders . vol.  xiii.  468 

to  Putnam  relative  to  Connecticut . vol.  xiii.  469 

declines  to  nominate  commander  for  the  Northern  De¬ 
partment . vol.  xiii.  471 

regret  at  the  removal  of  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  472 

soothing  counsels . vol.  xiii.  472 

news  of  British  fleet . , . vol.  xiii.  476 

to  Putnam  to  be  on  the  alert .  vol.  xiii.  478 

sends  Colonel  Morgan  to  fight  the  Indians . vol.  xiii.  479 

re-enforces  Gates . vol.  xiii.  479 

force  in  Burgoyne’s  rear . vol.  xiii.  480 

makes  the  acquaintance  of  Lafayette . vol.  xiii.  481. 

on  foreign  appointments . vol.  xiii.  483 

marches  through  Philadelphia . vol.  xiii.  484 

at  Wilmington . vol.  xiii.  485 

to  Putnam  on  Stark’s  victory . vol.  xiii.  514 

enemy  landing . vol.  xiii.  524 

reconnoiters . vol.  xiii.  524 

risk  of  capture . vol.  xiii.  525 

determines  to  risk  a  battle . vol.  xiii.  528 

stirring  appeal  to  the  army . vol.  xiii.  529 

changes  position . vol.  xiii.  530 

position  of  the  army . vol.  xiii.  530 

battle  of  Brandywine . vol.  xiii.  531 

profits  by  Howe’s  inactivity . vol.  xiii.  539 

retreat  to  Germantown . vol.  xiii.  540 

maneuvers  of  the  armies . vol.  xiii.  540 

at  Warwick  Furnace . vol.  xiii.  541 

to  Putnam  for  re-enforcements . vol.  xiii.  544 

to  Gates  for  Morgan’s  corps . vol.  xiii.  544 

rests  at  Pott’s  Grove . vol.  xiii.  545 

to  Trumbull  on  the  taking  of  Philadelphia . vol.  xiii.  546 

amount  of  force . vol.  xiv.  46 

advances  to  Skippack  Creek . vol.  xiv.  46 

to  Congress  on  Howe’s  situation . vol.  xiv.  47 

determines  to  attack  the  British  camp . vol.  xiv.  48 

plan  of  attack . vol.  xiv.  48 

conduct  in  the  battle  of  Germantown . vol.  xiv.  54 

to  Congress  on  the  battle . . vol.  xiv.  55 

remains  at  Perkiomen  Creek . vol.  xiv.  57 

re-enforced . vol.  xiv.  57 

at  White  Marsh . . . . . . vol.  xiv.  57 

intercepts  supplies . „ . . . vol.  xiv.  57 

the  importance  of  Fort  Mercer . vol.  xiv.  58 

to  Richard  Henry  Lee  on  the  promotion  of  Conway . vol.  xiv.  64 

to  Gates  on  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne . vol.  xiv.  66 

f 


Ipdex 


607 


Washington,  George,  to  Conway  on  his  letter  to  Gates . vol.  xiv.  68 

to  Patrick  Henry,  apology  for  his  army . vol.  xiv.  70 

to  Thomas  Wharton  for  aid . (note)  vol.  xiv.  70 

in  want  of  re-enforcements . vol.  xiv.  71 

instructions  in  regard  to  the  forts . vol.  xiv.  72 

loss  of  Fort  Mifflin . vol.  xiv.  74 

hopes  to  keep  Red  Bank . vol.  xiv.  74 

reprimands  Putnam . vol.  xiv.  79 

intrigues  against . vol.  xiv.  80 

Fort  Mercer  taken . vol.  xiv.  80 

arrival  of  re-enforcements . vol.  xiv.  82 

advising  the  sinking  of  the  American  vessels . vol.  xiv.  82 

reconnoiters  Philadelphia . vol.  xiv.  84 

opportunity  for  a  brilliant  blow . vol.  xiv.  86 

council  of  war . vol.  xiv.  86 

on  the  promotion  of  Lafayette . / . vol.  xiv.  88 

camp  menaced  by  Howe . vol.  xiv.  90 

skirmishes . : . vol.  xiv.  90 

encourages  his  troops . vol.  xiv.  91 

the  enemy  retire . vol.  xiv.  92 

to  Congress  on  threatened  attack . vol.  xiv.  93 

approach  of  winter . vol.  xiv.  93 

winters-quarters . vol.  xiv.  94 

arrival  at  Valley  Forge . vol.  xiv.  94 

destitution  of  troops . vol.  xiv.  95 

in  vindication . vol.  xiv.  96 

exercises  his  authority . vol.  xiv.  98 

to  Congress  on  the  consequences . vol.  xiv.  98 

retrospect  of  1777  . vol.  xiv.  98 

to  Gates  on  the  Conway  letter . vol.  xiv.  103 

to  Laurens  on  the  conduct  of  his  enemies . vol.  xiv.  107 

correspondence  with  Gates. . . . vol.  xiv.  108 

searching  reply  to  Gates’  explanation . vol.  xiv.  114 

closing  note  to  Gates . vol.  xiv.  116 

forged  letters . vol.  xiv.  117 

to  General  Henry  Lee  on  the  forged  letters . vol.  xiv.  117 

to  Landon  Carter  on  the  same . vol.  xiv.  118 

introduction  to  forged  letters . vol.  xiv.  118 

Canada  expedition . vol.  xiv.  119 

to  Lafayette,  consoling  . vol.  xiv.  120 

to  Patrick  Henry,  on  the  cabal . vol.  xiv.  130 

party  opposed  to  Washington . . . (note)  vol.  xiv.  130 

reforms  in  the  army . vol.  xiv.  132 

destitution  in  camp . vol.  xiv.  134 

situation  described . vol.  xiv.  134 

to  Captain  Lee  on  his  exploit . vol.  xiv.  136 

recommends  Captain  Lee  for  promotion . vol.  xiv.  137 

to  General  Lee  on  his  exchange . vol.  xiv.  138 

arrival  of  Mrs.  Washington . vol.  xiv.  139 


608 


!i)dex 


Washington,  George,  better  times . vol.  xiv.  139 

arrival  of  Bryan  Fairfax . vol.  xiv.  139 

to  Bryan  Fairfax  on  their  friendship .  vol.  xiv.  140 

arrival  of  Baron  Steuben . vol.  xiv.  141 

promotion  of  Greene .  vol.  xiv.  145 

project  to  capture  Sir  Henry  Clinton . .vol.  xiv.  147 

circular  on  plan  of  next  campaign . vol.  xiv.  149 

to  Congress  on  forming  a  system. . vol.  xiv.  150 

downfall  of  Conway . vol.  xiv.  150 

sends  Lord  North’s  bills  to  Congress.  . . vol.  xiv.  152 

to  Governor  Tryon  inclosing  resolutions  of  Congress _ vol.  xiv.  153 

rejoicings  at  Valley  Forge . vol.  xiv.  155 

council  of  war  determines  for  defensive  measures . vol.  xiv.  155 

American  force . vol.  xiv.  158 

solicitude  for  Lafayette . vol.  xiv.  160 

to  Congress  on  Ethan  Allen . vol.  xiv.  161 

prepares  to  decamp . vol.  xiv.  162 

sends  Sir  Henry  Clinton’s  letter  to  Congress . vol.  xiv.  165 

amount  of  force  under . vol.  xiv.  168 

to  Lee,  admonitory . vol.  xiv.  169 

council  of  war . vol.  xiv.  170 

Philadelphia  evacuated . vol.  xiv.  170 

pursues  the  enemy . vol.  xiv.  171 

crosses  the  Delaware  at  Coryell’s  Ferry . vol.  xiv.  171 

council  opposed  to  a  general  action . vol.  xiv.  172 

determines  to  attack  the  enemy . vol.  xiv.  173 

perplexed  to  satisfy  Lee . vol.  xiv.  175 

resolves  upon  an  attack . vol.  xiv.  175 

orders  Lee  to  watch  the  enemy . vol.  xiv.  176 

orders  Lee  to  attack . vol.  xiv.  176 

sets  forward  to  the  attack . vol.  xiv.  176 

retreat  of  the  American  troops . vol.  xiv.  178 

meets  Colonel  Shreve  and  Major  Howard  retreating  . . .  .vol.  xiv.  179 

angry  meeting  with  Lee . vol.  xiv.  179 

checks  the  retreat . vol.  xiv.  180 

dispositions  for  battle . vol.  xiv.  180 

battle  of  Monmouth  Court-house . vol.  xiv.  182 

retreat  of  the  enemy . vol.  xiv.  184 

march  to  Brunswick . vol.  xiv.  186 

halts  at  Paramus . vol.  xiv.  186 

correspondence  with  General  Lee . vol.  xiv.  186 

puts  Lee  under  arrest . vol.  xiv.  189 

conduct  in  relation  to  Lee . vol.  xiv.  189 

on  Lee’s  abuse . vol.  xiv.  191 

magnanimity  in  regard  to  Lee . vol.  xiv.  195 

arrival  of  French  fleet . vol.  xiv.  196 

correspondence  with  Count  D’Estaing . vol.  xiv.  198 

plan  of  operations .  ...  .vol.  xiv.  198 

encamps  at  White  Plains . . vol.  xiv.  198 


Ipdex 


609 


Washington,  George,  orders  Sullivan  to  prepare  for  a  de¬ 
scent  upon  Rhode  Island . vol.  xiv.  300 

to  John  Augustine  on  the  failure  of  the  expedition 

against  Rhode  Island . vol.  xiv.  210 

anxiety  as  to  its  effects . vol.  xiv.  211 

to  D’Estaing  on  his  failure . vol.  xiv.  211 

enemy’s  movements  . vol.  xiv.  216 

strengthens  the  Highlands . .vol.  xiv.  217 

moves  his  camp  to  Fredericksburg . vol.  xiy.  217 

moves  to  Fishkill . . vol.  xiv.  218 

distribution  of  troops . vol.  xiv.  225 

headquarters  near  Middlebrook. . . . vol.  xiv.  225 

plan  of  alarm  signals . vol.  xiv.  225 

opposes  Lafayette’s  Canada  scheme  . vol.  xiv.  227 

in  Philadelphia  . vol.  xiv.  228 

on  the  deterioration  of  Congress . vol.  xiv.  229 

to  Colonel  Harrison  on  the  decline  of  public  spirit . vol.  xiv.  229 

disgust  at  the  neglect  of  Congress . vol.  xiv.  231 

policy  of  the  next  campaign . vol.  xiv.  231 

unjust  retaliation  on  the  Indians . vol.  xiv.  232 

discontent  of  Jersey  troops . vol.  xiv.  233 

acts  as  a  mediator . vol.  xiv.  233 

address  to  the  officers . vol.  xiv.  238 

reply  of  the  officers . vol.  xiv.  234 

to  General  Maxwell  on  the  determination  of  his  officers. vol.  xiv.  235 

apprehends  an  expedition  against  the  Highlands . vol.  xiv.  238 

measures  for  the  protection  of  West  Point . vol.  xiv.  240 

removes  to  New  Windsor . vol.  xiv.  240 

detaches  General  Heath  to  act  against  the  British  in 

Connecticut . vol.  xiv.  242 

plans  the  recapture  of  Stony  Point  and  Fort  Lafayette,  .vol.  xiv.  243 

proposes  the  storming  of  Stony  Point  to  Wayne . vol.  xiv.  243 

plan  of  surprisal . vol.  xiv.  245 

evacuates  Stony  Point . vol.  xiv.  249 

at  West  Point . vol.  xiv.  250 

expedition  against  Penobscot . vol.  xiv.  252 

on  the  surprise  of  Paulus  Hook... . vol.  xiv.  254 

on  the  capture  of  Stony  Point  and  Paulus  Hook . vol.  xiv.  256 

furthers  the  defenses  of  the  Hudson . vol.  xiv.  257 

to  Edmund  Randolph  for  information  of  affairs . vol.  xiv.  257 

to  Dr.  Cochran  describing  style  of  living . ...vol.  xiv.  258 

reception  of  the  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne . vol.  xiv.  260 

to  Lafayette . . . vol.  xiv.  260 

change  of  plans . vol.  xiv.  262 

sends  troops  to  the  South . vol.  xiv.  263 

to  President  Reed  for  aid  . ..vol.  xiv.  264 

on  the  destitution  of  the  troops . vol.  xiv.  264 

calls  upon  the  counties  for  supplies . vol.  xiv.  266 

to  Colonel  Ogden  to  regard  the  rights  of  the  people . vol.  xiv.  266 


610 


Ipdex 


Washington,  George,  bay  of  New  York  frozen  over . vol.  xiv.  207 

projects  a  descent  on  Staten  Island . vol.  xiv.  267 

Arnold’s  government  of  Philadelphia . vol.  xiv.  271 

good  opinion  of  Arnold . '. . .  vol.  xiv.  272 

instructions  to  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  272 

sympathy  with  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  279 

reprimand  to  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  281 

solicitude  for  the  safety  of  the  Southern  States . vol.  xiv.  283 

on  the  safety  of  Charleston . vol.  xiv.  288 

to  Congress  on  his  situation . vol.  xiv.  289 

re-enforces  Lincoln . vol.  xiv.  290 

steadfastness  of  mind . vol.  xiv.  291 

to  Baron  Steuben  on  his  difficulties . vol.  xiv.  291 

to  Congress  on  military  reforms . vol.  xiv.  292 

committee  appointed  to  consult  with . vol.  xiv.  293 

to  Lafayette  on  his  return. . . . vol.  xiv.  294 

reception  of  Lafayette . vol.  xiv.  294 

to  Lafayette  on  the  reduction  of  New  York . vol.  xiv.  295 

reduction  of  the  army . vol.  xiv.  298 

mutiny  in  camp . vol.  xiv.  299 

to  President  Reed  for  relief . vol.  xiv.  300 

endeavors  to  rouse  Congress . vol.  xiv.  300 

surrender  of  Charleston . vol.  xiv.  310 

supplies  West  Point . vol.  xiv.  315 

in  position  at  Short  Hills . vol.  xiv.  318 

watches  Knyphausen . vol.  xiv.  319 

sets  off  toward  Pompton . ...vol.  xiv.  320 

enemy  move  against  Springfield . . . vol.  xiv.  320 

applies  to  the  State  Legislature  for  aid . . vol.  xiv.  326 

congratulates  the  army  on  the  arrival  of  French  troops. vol.  xiv.  331 

his  line  of  conduct . vol.  xiv.  331 

crosses  the  Hudson . . vol.  xiv.  333 

interview  with  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  333 

withdraws  his  forces . vol.  xiv.  334 

interposes  in  the  difficulty  between  Greene  and  Con¬ 
gress .  . . . vol.  xiv.  335 

on  the  derangement  of  the  commissariat . vol.  xiv.  336 

the  reverse  at  Camden . vol.  xiv.  351 

on  militia  and  regular  troops . vol.  xiv.  351 

to  Gates  on  the  battle  of  Camden . vol.  xiv.  353 

prepares  to  proceed  to  Hartford . vol.  xiv.  353 

crosses  to  Verplanck’s  Point . vol.  xiv.  361 

interview  with  French  officers . vol.  xiv.  375 

returns  to  headquarters . vol.  xiv.  375 

reception  by  the  people . vol.  xiv.  376 

detained  at  Fishkill . vol.  xiv.  376 

ride  to  the  Robinson  House . vol.  xiv.  377 

arrives  at  the  Robinson  House . vol.  xiv.  378 

at  West  Point . vol.  xiv.  878 


Ii)dex 


611 


WASHINGTON",  George,  hears  of  Arnold’s  treason . vol.  xiv.  379 

sends  in  pursuit  of  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  379 

letters  from  Arnold  and  Colonel  Robinson . vol.  xiv.  381 

to  Colonel  Wade,  urging  vigilance . vol.  xiv.  382 

to  General  Greene,  to  proceed  to  King’s  Ferry . vol.  xiv.  383 

to  Colonel  Jameson,  to  prevent  Andre’s  escape . vol.  xiv.  383 

interview  with  Mrs.  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  383 

Andre  brought  to  the  Robinson  House . vol.  xiv.  384 

to  Greene  on  the  custody  of  Andre  and  Smith . vol.  xiv.  384 

refers  the  case  of  Andre  to  a  board  of  general  officers.  ..vol.  xiv.  390 

to  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  concerning  Andre . vol.  xiv.  392 

Andre’s  appeal . vol.  xiv.  397 

eulogium  on  the  captors  of  Andre . vol.  xiv.  402 

on  Arnold’s  address . vol.  xiv.  404 

opinion  of  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  405 

to  Governor  Reed  on  Arnold’s  conduct . vol.  xiv.  405 

strengthens  West  Point . vol.  xiv.  409 

takes  post  at  Prakeness . vol.  xiv.  409 

plan  to  capture  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  410 

failure  of  Champe’s  design . vol.  xiv.  412 

appoints  Greene  to  command  the  Southern  army..a . vol.  xiv.  413 

confidence  in  Greene . vol.  xiv.  413 

state  of  the  army . vol.  xiv.  415 

to  General  Sullivan  on  the  state  of  the  country  and  army  .vol.  xiv.  415 

to  Lafayette  on  his  desire  for  action . vol.  xiv.  418 

preparations  to  attack  the  British  posts . vol.  xiv.  419 

his  horsemanship . vol.  xiv.  420 

personal  appearance . vol.  xiv.  423 

his  character . vol.  xiv.  423 

at  New  Windsor . vol.  xiv.  425 

to  Franklin  on  his  disappointment . vol.  xiv.  447 

necessitous  state  of  the  country . vol.  xiv.  448 

instructions  to  Colonel  Laurens . vol.  xiv.  449 

revolt  of  the  Pennsylvania  line . vol.  xiv.  452 

to  Wayne  on  the  revolt . vol.  xiv.  453 

disaffection  in  the  army. .  vol.  xiv.  459 

suppresses  mutiny  of  Jersey  troops . ..vol.  xiv.  460 

articles  of  confederation . vol.  xiv.  461 

heads  of  departments  formed . vol.  xiv.  464 

eulogium  on  Hamilton . ,vol.  xiv.  465 

misunderstanding  with  Hamilton....  . vol.  xiv.  466 

to  Lafayette  on  Hamilton . vol.  xiv.  469 

reconciliation  with  Hamilton . vol.  xiv.  469 

to  Greene  on  the  battle  of  Guilford  Court-house . vol.  xiv.  504 

on  the  destruction  of  Arnold’s  corps . vol.  xiv.  512 

instructions  to  Lafayette . vol.  xiv.  513 

to  Steuben  on  Arnold . vol.  xiv.  513 

sets  out  for  Newport . vol.  xiv.  514 

to  Lafayette  on  Cornwallis . vol.  xiv.  514 


Iqdex 


612 

Washington,  George,  at  Newport . vo>l.  xiv.  515 

arranges  plan  of  campaign  with  Rochambeau . vol.  xiv.  515 

to  Lafayette  on  the  sailing  of  the  French  fleet . vol.  xiv.  515 

returns  to  New  Windsor . vol.  xiv.  516 

to  Greene  on  the  chance  of  re-enforcements . vol.  xiv.  516 

to  Colonel  Lanrens  on  the  failure  of  the  Portsmouth  ex¬ 
pedition . . . vol.  xiv.  518 

anxiety  for  Greene . vol.  xiv.  519 

orders  Lafayette  to  join  Greene . vol.  xiv.  519 

to  Lund  Washington  on  his  conduct  toward  the  enemy.. vol.  xiv.  533 

force  on  the  Hudson . vol.  xiv.  535 

death  of  Colonel  Greene .  . vol.  xiv.  537 

arrival  of  Count  de  Barras . vol.  xiv.  539 

interview  with  Rochambeau . vol.  xiv.  539 

number  of  force . vol.  xiv.  530 

plan  of  operations . vol.  xiv.  531 

to  Governor  Clinton,  on  his  designs . vol.  xiv.  532 

march  to  King’s  Bridge . . vol.  xiv.  532 

failure  of  the  enterprise . vol.  xiv.  532 

at  Dobb’s  Ferry . vol.  xiv.  533 

to  Lee  on  his  plans . vol.  xiv.  535 

reconnoiters  the  British  posts . vol.  xiv.  536 

at  King’s  Bridge . vol.'xiv.  537 

awkward  predicament . vol.  xiv.  537 

to  Lafayette  on  the  effect  of  the  reconnoissance . vol.  xiv.  538 

disappointment  as  to  re-enforcements . vol.  xiv.  558 

to  the  Eastern  States . vol.  xiv.  559 

to  Lafayette  on  the  arrival  of  Count  de  Grasse . vol.  xiv.  560 

determines  to  command  the  expedition . vol.  xiv.  561 

crosses  to  Haverstraw . .  ...vol.  xiv.  563 

visits  West  Point  with  Rochambeau . vol.  xiv.  563 

move  toward  Virginia . . . . . . .  vol.  xiv.  563 

to  Noah  Webster  on  the  Virginia  expedition. . (note)  vol.  xiv.  564 

welcome  at  Philadelphia . ...vol.  xiv.  566 

concern  about  De  Grasse . vol.  xiv.  569 

to  Lafayette  on  Cornwallis . vol.  xiv.  569 

arrival  of  the  Count  de  Grasse . vol.  xiv.  570 

reaches  the  Head  of  Elk .  . vol.  xiv.  570 

to  De  Grasse  on  Cornwallis . vol.  xiv.  571 

at  Baltimore . vol.  xiv.  572 

revisits  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xiv.  572 

pushes  on  to  Williamsburg . vol.  xiv.  572 

hurries  on  the  troops . vol.  xiv.  576 

on  board  the  French  fleet . vol.  xiv.  577 

plan  of  operations . vol.  xiv.  577 

arrival  of  Admiral  Bigby . vol.  xiv.  578 

threatened  departure  of  the  French  fleet . vol.  xiv.  578 

army  drawn  up  at  Beaver  Dam  Creek . vol.  xiv.  580 

strength  of  forces . vol.  xiv.  581 


Ipdex 


613 


Washington,  George,  anecdote. . . . . 

dispatches  from  Greene . . . . 

to  Greene  on  the  battle  of  Eutaw  Springs . 

fires  the  first  gun  against  Yorktown . 

witnesses  the  storming  of  the  redoubts. ...... 

anecdote . . 

and  Knox,  ancedote . 

surrender  of  Yorktown . 

and  General  O’Hara . 

on  the  victory. . . . 

re-enforces  General  Greene . 

dissolution  of  combined  armies . 

at  Eltham . 

death  of  John  Parke  Custis . 

proceeds  to  Mount  Vernon . 

to  Greene  on  the  improvement  of  the  victory, 

to  Lafayette  on  the  next  campaign . . 

reception  by  Congress . . . . 

policy  of  the  ensuing  campaign . 

bold  project  of  Colonel  Ogden . 

to  Greene  on  retaliation . 

murder  of  Captain  Huddy . . 

demand  on  Sir  Henry  Clinton . . 

the  case  of  Captain  Asgill . 

case  of  Colonel  Webb . 

at  Newburg . 

continues  his  precautions . 

arrival  of  Sir  Guy  Carle  ton . 

propositions  of  peace . . . 

discontent  in  the  army. . . . . . 

letter  from  Colonel  Nicola . 

indignant  reply  to  Nicola . 

negotiations  for  peace . 

to  Rochambeau,  advising  a  junction . . . 

at  Verplanck’s  Point . 

on  the  reduction  of  the  army . 

discontent  of  the  army . . . 

anonymous  paper. . . 

addresses  committee  of  the  army . 

to  Congress  on  behalf  of  the  army . 

news  of  peace . . 

a  plea  for  the  soldier . 

general  order  on  peace . . . 

grants  furloughs . . . 

interview  with  Sir  Guy  Carleton . 

president  of  the  society  of  the  Cincinnati. . . . 

on  the  dissolution  of  the  army . 

mutiny  of  Pennsylvania  troops . 

to  Congress  on  the  mutiny . 


UOC.C.4S  ecTOlt  XIV.  582 

. vol.  xiv.  584 

.vol.  xiv.  591 

. vol.  xiv.  592 

. vol.  xiv.  598 

. vol.  xiv,  598 

. vol.  xiv.  598 

. vol.  xiv.  602 

. vol.  xiv.  604 

. vol.  xiv.  605 

. vol.  xiv.  608 

. vol.  xiv.  608 

. vol.  xiv.  609 

. vol.  xiv.  609 

. vol.  xiv.  609 

. vol.  xiv.  610 

. vol.  xiv.  610 

. vol.  xiv.  611 

. vol.  xiv.  611 

. vol.  xiv.  612 

. vol.  xiv.  614 

. . . vol.  xiv.  614 

. vol.  xiv.  615 

. vol.  xiv.  616 

. .  .(note)  vol.  xiv.  617 

. vol.  xiv.  618 

. vol.  xiv.  619 

. .vol.  xiv.  619 

. vol.  xiv.  619 

. vol.  xiv.  619 

. vol.  xiv.  620 

. vol.  xiv.  620 

. vol.  xiv.  621 

. vol.  xiv.  621 

. vol.  xiv.  621 

. vol.  xiv.  621 

.  .vol.  xv.  19 

. vol.  xv.  21 

. vol.  xv.  25 

. . vol.  xv.  29 

. vol.  xv.  81 

. vol.  xv.  32 

. vol.  xv.  32 

. vol.  xv.  33 

. vol.  xv.  34 

. vol.  xv.  36 

. vol.  xv.  37 

. . vol.  xv.  41 

. vol.  xv.  42 


614 


Ir>dex 


Washington,  George,  tour  through  New  York . vol.  xv.  43 

to  Chastellux  on  his  tour . vol.  xv.  44 

parting  address  to  the  army . vol.  xv.  45 

at  Harlem . vol.  xv.  48 

enters  New  York . vol.  xv.  49 

farewell  to  his  officers . vol.  xv.  49 

adjustment  of  his  accounts . vol.  xv.  50 

journey  to  Annapolis . vol.  xv.  51 

to  Baron  Steuben  on  his  resignation . vol.  xv.  53 

resigns  his  commission . vol.  xv.  53 

returns  to  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xv.  54 

to  Governor  Clinton  on  his  retirement . vol.  xv.  53 

to  Knox  on  his  retirement . vol.  xv.  54 

to  Lafayette ;  a  soldier’s  repose . vol.  xv.  55 

to  the  Marchioness  de  Lafayette . vol.  xv.  56 

manner  of  living . vol.  xv.  56 

declines  the  offer  of  the  Pennsylvania  council  . vol.  xv.  57 

applications  from  authors . . vol.  xv.  57 

to  Dr.  Craik  on  his  Memoirs . vol.  xv.  58 

reception  of  visitors . vol.  xv.  60 

management  of  his  estate . vol.  xv.  61 

popular  feeling  against  the  Cincinnati . vol.  xv.  63 

presides  at  a  meeting  of  the  Cincinnati . vol.  xv.  63 

to  Chastellux  on  his  regard . vol.  xv.  63 

arrival  of  Lafayette .  . vol.  xv.  63 

tour  west  of  the  mountains . : . vol.  xv.  63 

observations  on  internal  navigation . vol.  xv.  64 

to  Governor  Harrison  on  internal  improvement . vol.  xv.  66 

reception  by  the  Virginia  House  of  Assembly . vol.  xv.  66 

joined  by  Lafayette .  . vol.  xv.  67 

parting  with  Lafayette . vol.  xv.  67 

to  Richard  Henry  Lee  on  inland  navigation . vol.  xv.  69 

at  Annapolis .  . vol.  xv.  71 

appropriation  of  Virginia  Assembly . vol.  xv.  71 

rural  improvements . vol.  xv.  73 

to  Governor  Clinton  concerning  rural  matters . vol.  xv.  73 

burden  of  correspondence .  . vol.  xv.  74 

to  Francis  Hopkinson  on  sitting  for  likenesses... . vol.  xv.  75 

ornamental  cultivation . . vol.  xv.  75 

extent  of  his  estate . vol.  xv.  76 

life  at  Mount  Vernon .  vol.  xv.  77 

private  character . . vol.  xv.  77 

fondness  for  children . vol.  xv.  78 

in  social  life . vol.  xv.  78 

unassuming  manners . vol.  xv.  79 

attention  to  others,  anecdote . vol.  xv.  79 

social  disposition . vol.  xv.  80 

festive  gayety . vol.  xv.  80 

and  Mrs.  Olney .  . . vol.  xv.  81 


Ipdex 


615 


Washington,  George,  laughter,  anecdote . 

anecdote,  Judges  Marshall  and  Washington . 

anecdote,  Colonel  Lee . 

passion  for  hunting . 

anecdote,  fox  hunting . 

to  George  William  Fairfax  about  deer . 

death  of  Greene . 

to  Lafayette  on  Greene . 

to  the  Marquis  de  la  Rouerie . 

to  Rochambeau,  reveries  of  peace . 

doubts  the  solidity  of  the  confederation . 

to  James  Warren  on  the  confederation . 

ideas  on  national  policy . 

correspondence  with  John  Jay . 

to  Colonel  Lee  on  the  Massachusetts  insurrection 

to  Knox  on  the  same . . 

to  James  Madison  on  the  same . 

at  the  head  of  the  Virginia  delegation . 

the  Massachusetts  insurrection  quelled . 

attends  the  convention . 

anecdote . . 

to  Lafayette  on  the  new  Constitution . 

returns  to  Mount  Vernon . 

.  on  the  ratification  of  the  Constitution . 

to  Lafayette  on  the  Presidency . . 

to  Colonel  Lee  on  the  same . 

to  Hamilton  on  the  same. . . . 

to  Lafayette  on  the  same . 

elected  President . 

parting  with  his  mother . 

to  Knox  on  his  election . 

sets  out  for  New  York . . 

public  dinner  at  Alexandria . 

progress  to  New  York . 

reception  at  Philadelphia . . 

reception  at  Trenton . 

reception  at  New  York . 

inauguration  of . 

concluding  remarks . 

the  new  government . 

difficulties  of  his  position . . 

confidence  in  Hamilton . 

and  Madison ....  . 

privacy  invaded . 

Presidential  etiquette . 

first  levee,  anecdote . 

attends  balls . 

presidential  dinner . 

presidential  household . 


. vol.  xv.  82 

(note)  vol.  xv.  82 

. vol.  xv.  82 

. vol.  xv.  83 

. vol.  xv.  83 

. vol.  xv.  84 

. vol.  xv.  85 

. vol.  xv.  86 

. vol.  xv.  87 

. vol.  xv.  87 

. vol.  xv.  88 

. vol.  xv.  89 

. vol.  xv.  90 

. vol.  xv.  91 

. vol.  xv.  94 

. . vol.  xv.  95 

. vol.  xv.  96 

. vol.  xv.  97 

. vol.  xv.  98 

. vol.  xv.  99 

. vol.  xv.  99 

. vol.  xv.  100 

. vol.  xv.  102 

. vol.  xv.  103 

. vol.  xv.  103 

. vol.  xv.  104 

. vol.  xv.  105 

. vol.  xv.  106 

. vol.  xv.  106 

. vol.  xv.  106 

. vol.  xv.  106 

. vol.  xv.  107 

. vol.  xv.  109 

. vol.  xv.  108 

. vol.  xv.  109 

. vol.  xv.  110 

.......vol,  xv.  112 

. . vol.  xv.  112 

. vol.  xv.  118 

. vol.  xv.  121 

. . vol.  xv.  121 

. . vol.  xv.  124 

. . vol.  xv.  126 

. vol.  xv.  128 

. vol.  xv.  129 

. vol.  xv.  133 

. vol.  xv.  184 

. vol.  xv.  135 

. vol.  xv.  136 


616 


Ii)dex 


Washington,  George,  his  deportment . vol.  xv.  137 

his  equipage. . . . . . . vol.  xv.  137 

love  of  horses . vol.  xv.  137 

residence  in  New  York . (note)  vol.  xv.  137 

alarming  illness . vol.  xv.  138 

exercise  of  the  nominating  power . vol.  xv.  139 

rebukes  the  Senate . vol.  xv.  140 

death  of  his  mother . vol.  xv.  140 

nominates  Hamilton  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury . vol.  xv.  143 

and  Edmund  Randolph . vol.  xv.  143 

to  Jay,  inclosing  his  commission . vol.  xv.  144 

department  of  state . vol.  xv.  145 

to  Rochambeau  on  the  French  Revolution . vol.  xv.  154 

to  Gouverneur  Morris  on  the  same . vol.  xv.  154 

offers  to  appoint  Jefferson  Secretary  of  State . vol.  xv.  156 

journey  through  the  Eastern  States . vol.  xv.  157 

Hancock’s  invitation . vol.  xv.  158 

reception  at  Boston,  question  of  etiquette. . . vol.  xv.  159 

account  of  the  ceremony . vol.  xv.  159 

reply  to  General  Hancock . vol.  xv.  160 

address  of  the  Cincinnati  Society  of  Massachusetts . vol.  xv.  163 

return  to  New  York . vol.  xv.  163 

message  from  Lafayette  on  affairs  in  France . vol.  xv.  163 

appoints  Jefferson  Secretary  of  State . vol.  xv.  165 

opens  the  session . . . (note)  vol.  xv.  167 

measures  suggested  in  his  address . vol.  xv.  167 

public  credit . vol.  xv.  168 

on  sectional  jealousies . vol.  xv.  171 

assumption  of  State  debts . vol.  xv.  176 

forms  and  ceremonies . vol.  xv.  179 

to  Dr.  Stuart  on  his  levees . vol.  xv.  179 

to  Lafayette  on  his  cabinet . vol.  xv.  181 

to  Luzerne  on  the  French  revolution . vol.  xv.  184 

receives  the  key  of  the  Bastile . vol.  xv.  186 

to  Lafayette,  solicitude  for . vol.  xv.  186 

visits  Rhode  Island . vol.  xv.  187 

return  to  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xv.  187 

difficulties  with  the  Indians . vol.  xv.  187 

information  of  Indian  expedition . vol.  xv.  189 

residence  at  Philadelphia . vol.  xv.  191 

national  bank . vol.  xv.  193 

his  judgment . vol.  xv.  193 

opposite  cabinet  policy . vol.  xv.  193 

addresses  Seneca  chiefs . vol.  xv.  194 


[i?dex 


617 


Washington,  George,  on  the  first  Congress . vol.  xv.  195 

cautions  General  St.  Clair . vol.  xv.  195 

tour  through  the  Southern  States . vol.  xv.  197 

return  to  Philadelphia . vol.  xv.  197 

to  David  Humphreys  on  stability  of  the  government,  .vol.  xv.  198 

public  credit . vol.  xv.  199 

to  Lafayette  on  the  state  of  the  country .  vol.  xv.  199 

to  Lafayette  on  his  personal  danger . vol.  xv.  203 

concerning  the  flight  and  capture  of  Louis  XVI . vol.  xv.  205 

at  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xv.  206 

speech  on  the  opening  of  the  second  Congress . vol.  xv.  206 

intelligence  of  St.  Clair’s  disaster . vol.  xv.  214 

effect  upon  him . vol.  xv.  215 

vetoes  the  apportionment  bill . vol.  xv.  218 

weary  of  political  life . vol.  xv.  218 

intention  of  retirement . vol.  xv.  219 

to  St.  Clair  on  a  court  of  inquiry . vol.  xv.  224 

retains  his  confidence  in  St.  Clair . vol.  xv.  225 

visits  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xv.  225 

to  Madison  on  his  intention  to  retire . vol.  xv.  225 

asks  Madison’s  advice . vol.  xv.  226 

conversation  with  Jefferson  on  political  matters . vol.  xv.  230 

to  Jefferson  on  his  dissensions  with  Hamilton . vol.  xv.  237 

to  Hamilton  on  the  same . vol.  xv.  238 

on  taking  the  oath  of  office . vol.  xv.  247 

takes  the  oath  of  office . vol.  xv.  247 

state  of  affairs  in  France . vol.  xv.  248 

Lafayette’s  downfall . vol.  xv.  249 

atrocities  of  the  French  revolution . vol.  xv.  251 

to  Madame  de  Lafayette . vol.  xv.  252 

commencement  of  second  term . .vol.  xv.  254 

war  between  France  and  England..., . vol.  xv.  255 

proclamation  of  neutrality . vol.  xv.  256 

view  of  French  affairs . vol.  xv.  261 

reception  of  Genet . vol.  xv.  263 

conversation  with  Jefferson  on  attacks  of  the  press.. .  .vol,  xv.  263 

restitution  of  French  prizes . vol.  xv.  264 

newspaper  attacks . vol.  xv.  265 

adherence  to  duty . vol.  xv.  266 

called  to  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xv.  267 

case  of  the  “Little  Sarah”. . . vol.  xv.  270 

trial  of  Gideon  Henfield . vol.  xv.  271 

concerning  the  recall  of  Genet . vol.  xv.  272 

burst  of  feeling . .vol.  xv.  273 


618 


Ii)dex 

Washington,  George,  threatened  dissolution  of  the  cabinet. vol.  xv.  275 


interview  with  Jefferson . vol.  xv.  276 

ill-advised  measures  of  Great  Britain . vol.  xv.  283 

Indian  hostilities . .vol.  xv.  284 

opening  address  to  Congress . vol.  xv.  284 

messages  relative  to  Genet . vol.  xv.  286 

to  Jefferson  on  his  retirement . vol.  xv.  290 

characterized  by  Jefferson . vol.  xv.  290 

concerning  French  expeditions . vol.  xv.  295 

relative  to  British  aggressions . vol.  xv.  297 

wise  moderation . vol.  xv.  297 

to  Monroe  in  regard  to  Hamilton . vol.  xv.  299 

nominates  Jay  as  envoy  to  Great  Britain . vol.  xv.  300 

ironical  letter . vol.  xv.  302 

insurrection  in  Pennsylvania . vol.  xv.  303 

proclamation  to  the  insurgents . vol.  xv.  304 

to  Governor  Lee  on  the  Democratic  Societies . vol.  xv.  304 

issues  second  proclamation . vol.  xv.  305 

leaves  for  Carlisle . vol.  xv.  305 

correspondence  with  Morgan . vol.  xv.  305 

to  the  Secretary  of  State. . . vol.  xv.  305 

arrives  at  Cumberland . vol.  xv.  306 

to  Governor  Lee,  concerning  the  army . vol.  xv.  306 

arrives  at  Philadelphia . vol.  xv.  308 

to  Hamilton,  his  paternal  care . vol.  xv.  308 

to  Jay  on  the  Pennsylvania  insurrection . vol.  xv.  308 

denunciation  of  self-created  societies . vol.  xv.  310 

to  Knox  on  his  resignation . vol.  xv.  315 

anxiety  about  the  negotiation  with  England . vol.  xv.  316 

Jay’s  treaty . vol.  xv.  317 

ratification  of  the  treaty . vol.  xv.  319 

at  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xv.  321 

excitement  against . vol.  xv.  321 

reply  to  the  selectmen  of  Boston . vol.  xv.  322 

public  clamors . vol.  xv.  323 

to  Randolph,  requesting  to  be  advised . vol.  xv.  323 

recalled  to  the  seat  of  government . vol.  xv.  325 

Fauchet’s  intercepted  dispatch . vol.  xv.  326 

signs  the  ratification . vol.  xv.  327 

conduct  toward  Randolph . vol.  xv.  327 

permits  unlimited  disclosure . vol.  xv.  329 

malignant  attacks  of  the  press . vol.  xv.  330 

reply  to  the  Governor  of  Maryland . .vol.  xv.  331 

arrival  of  Lafayette’s  son . vol.  xv.  333 


Ii>dex 


619 


Washington,  George,  to  George  Cabot,  concerning  young 

Lafayette . vol.  xv.  333 

speech  at  the  opening  of  Congress . vol.  xv.  334 

to  Gouverneur  Morris  on  the  conduct  of  Great  Britain. vol.  xv.  337 

receives  the  colors  of  France . vol.  xv.  338 

treaty  with  Great  Britain . vol.  xv.  338 

demand  by  the  House  of  Representatives. . , . vol.  xv.  339 

reply  to  the  resolution . vol.  xv.  339 

to  Colonel  Humphreys  on  the  state  of  politics . vol.  xv.  342 

noble  reply  to  Jefferson . vol.  xv.  344 

to  Monroe  on  intercepted  letter . vol.  xv.  346 

determines  to  retire . vol.  xv.  347 

farewell  address . vol.  xv.  347 

sensation  produced  by . vol.  xv.  349 

last  speech  to  Congress . vol.  xv.  350 

complaints  of  the  French  minister . vol.  xv.  353 

letter  to  Mr.  Pinckney . vol.  xv.  354 

to  Knox  on  the  prospect  of  retirement . vol.  xv.  354 

denounces  spurious  letters . vol.  xv.  355 

farewell  dinner . vol.  xv.  356 

at  the  inauguration  of  Adams . vol.  xv.  357 

farewell  to  the  people . vol.  xv.  357 

banquet  in  honor  of . vol.  xv.  357 

sets  off  for  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xv.  358 

arrives  at  home . vol.  xv.  359 

letters  relating  to . vol.  xv.  359 

to  Mrs.  S.  Fairfax,  on  Bel  voir . vol.  xv.  361 

strange  faces . vol.  xv.  361 

invites  Lawrence  Lewis  to  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xv.  361 

advice  to  Nellie  Custis . vol.  xv.  362 

anecdote  of  Miss  Custis . vol.  xv.  365 

to  Lafayette  by  his  son . vol.  xv.  366 

on  the  French  indignities . vol.  xv.  369 

pamphlet  from  General  Dumas . vol.  xv.  371 

reply  to  Dumas . vol.  xv.  371 

threatened  war  with  France . vol.  xv.  875 

on  accepting  the  command . vol.  xv.  375 

appointed  commander-in-chief . vol.  xv.  375 

accepts  the  commission . vol.  xv.  377 

to  Knox,  on  his  appointment . vol.  xv.  379 

to  Adams,  concerning  Knox . vol.  xv.  380 

to  Knox,  explanatory . vol.  xv.  380 

to  Knox,  urging  his  acceptance . vol.  xv.  381 

repairs  to  Philadelphia . vol.  xv.  383 


620 


Ipdex 


Washington,  George,  taxed  with  the  cares  of  office . vol.  xv.  383 

return  to  Mount  Vesnon . vol.  xv.  384 

correspondence  with  Lafayette . .vol.  xv.  385 

surprise  at  the  appointment  of  minister  to  France . vol.  xv.  387 

the  conflict  in  Europe . vol.  xv.  389 

solicitude  for  the  army . vol.  xv.  390 

life  at  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xv.  390 

plan  for  the  management  of  his  estate . vol.  xv.  391 

to  Hamilton  on  military  academy . vol.  xv.  392 

illness . vol.  xv.  393 

remedies . vol.  xv.  393 

his  last  hours . •» . vol.  xv.  397 

his  death . vol.  xv.  398 

his  funeral . vol.  xv.  398 

his  will . vol.  xv.  398 

to  John  F.  Mercer  on  slavery . vol.  xv.  399 

to  Lawrence  Lewis  on  the  same . vol.  xv.  399 

public  testimonials  of  grief . vol.  xv.  400 

retrospect . vol.  xv.  400 

discharge  of  his  civil  functions . vol.  xv.  401 

character  of . vol.  xv.  402 

his  fame . vol.  xv.  402 

Washington,  Major  George  A . vol.  xv.  206 

Washington,  John  Augustine,  raises  an  independent  com¬ 
pany . vol.  xii.  402 

entreats  Mrs.  Washington  to  leave  Mount  Vernon  . . .  .vol.  xii.  569 

Washington,  Lawrence,  return  from  England . vol.  xii.  51 

campaign  in  the  West  Indies . vol.  xii.  51 

marries  Miss  Fairfax . vol.  xii.  53 

his  attachment  to  George . vol.  xii.  54 

becomes  manager  of  the  Ohio  Company . vol.  xii.  69 

failing  health,  departs  for  the  West  Indies . vol.  xii.  84 

goes  to  Bermuda . vol.  xii.  85 

letters  home . vol.  xii.  85 

return . vol.  xii.  86 

death . vol.  xii.  86 

his  character . vol.  xii.  86 

his  will . vol.  xii.  86 

Washington,  Lund,  on  the  danger  at  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xii.  403 

compromises  with  the  enemy . vol.  xiv.  523 

Washington,  Martha,  death  and  character  of . vol.  xv.  141 

Washington,  Mrs.,  at  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xii.  569 

arrival  at  Cambridge . vol.  xii.  571 

celebration  of  Twelfth  Night . vol.  xii.  572 


ipdex 


621 


at  New  York . vol.  xiii.  76 

arrival  at  Valley  Forge . vol.  xiv.  138 

presides  at  Mount  Vernon . vol.  xv.  59 

journey  to  New  York . vol.  xv.  133 

her  deportment . voi.  xv.  135 

death  of  Washington . . . vol.  xv.  397 

Washington,  Mary . vol.  xii.  51,  166 

Washington,  Colonel  William  A.,  leads  the  advance  at 

Trenton . vol.  xiii.  320 

described . vol.  xiv.  304 

joins  Colonel  White . . . vol.  xiv.  306 

surprised  at  Laneau’s  Ferry . vol.  xiv.  306 

exploit  at  Clermont . vol.  xiv.  445 

at  the  battle  of  the  Cowpens. .  ? . vol.  xiv.  476 

at  Guilford  Court  House . vol.  xiv.  500 

with  Marion . vol.  xiv.  584 

at  Eutaw  Springs.  . .  vol.  xiv.  584 

taken  prisoner . vol.  xiv.  588 

Waterbury,  Colonel,  raises  and  disbands  a  regiment . vol.  xii.  593 

gallant  conduct . vol.  xiii.  259 

taken  prisoner . vol.  xiii.  261 

Watson.  Elkanah,  picture  of  Washington  in  retirement..  ..vol.  xv.  79 

Watts,  Major,  at  Oriskany . vol.  xiii.  498 

wounded . vol.  xiii.  500 

Waxhaw,  Tarleton’s  butchery  at . vol.  xiv.  314 

Wayne,  Anthony . vol.  xiii.  125 

in  command  at  Ticonderoga . vol.  xiii.  373 

examines  the  defenses  of  the  Highlands . vol.  xiii.  415 

at  Chester . vol.  xiii.  484 

at  Brandywine . vol.  xiii.  543 

to  Washington  concerning  the  enemy . vol.  xiii.  549 

attacked  by  the  British . . . . . . . vol.  xiii.  549 

demands  a  court-martial . vol.  xiii.  549 

is  exonerated . vol.  xiii.  549 

in  the  battle  of  Germantown . vol.  xiv.  54 

in  favor  of  attacking  Philadelphia . vol.  xiv.  83 

detached  to  the  advance . vol.  xiv.  179 

at  Monmouth  Court  House . vol.  xiv.  187 

opposes  CornwTallis. . . . . vol.  xiv.  223 

to  storm  Stony  Point . vol.  xiv.  247 

marches  against  Stony  Point . vol.  xiv.  249 

carries  the  fort . vol.  xiv.  249 

revolt  of  troops . vol.  xiv.  259 

pursues  the  mutineers . vol.  xiv.  259 


It)dex 


622 

overtakes  the  troops, . vol.  xiv.  $61 

ordered  South . vol.  xiv.  514 

joins  Lafayette . vol.  xiv.  516 

in  a  morass .  . . . vol.  xiv.  519 

appointed  to  Western  command . vol.  xv.  223 

takes  the  field  against  the  Indians . vol.  xv.  281 

expedition  against  the  Indians..  v . vol.  xv.  307 

builds  Fort  Defiance . vol.  xv.  309 

defeats  the  Indians . vol.  xv.  309 

treaty  with  the  Indians . vol.  xv.  335 

Webb,  Colonel . vol.  xiii.  145 

Webb,  Major-general . vol.  xii.  254 

Webster,  Lieutenant-colonel,  to  break  up  American  posts. vol.  xiv.  308 

Webster,  Colonel,  detached  to  Beattie’s  Ford . vol.  xiv.  483 

at  Guilford  Court  House . vol.  xiv.  501 

Weedon,  Colonel,  conducts  Hessian  prisoners  to  Newtown.vol.  xiii.  277 

Weshington,  William,  of  Weshington . vol.  xii.  43 

Wessyngton.  De,  origin  of  the  name . vol.  xii.  41 

West,  Major . vol.  xiii.  430 

West  Point,  decided  to  be  fortified . vol.  xiv.  146 

Westchester  County,  British  inroad . vol.  xiv.  275 

WetzelPs  Mill,  affair  at . vol.  xiv.  493 

Whipple,  Commodore,  commands  fleet  at  Charleston . vol.  xiv.  288 

retrograde  move . vol.  xiv.  311 

Whipple,  General  William . vol.  xiii.  508 

White,  Bishop,  on  Washington’s  unassuming  manners . vol.  xv.  77 

Washington’s  farewell  dinner . :.  .vol.  xv.  355 

White,  Colonel,  with  American  cavalry . vol.  xiv.  311 

White,  Philip,  captured  and  killed . vol.  xiv.  614 

White,  Mingo,  speech  to  Washington . vol.  xii.  351 

White  Plains,  camp  at . vol.  xiii.  236 

incendiarism  at . vol.  xiii.  243 

White  Thunder  with  Washington . vol.  xii.  105 

in  Braddock’s  camp . vol.  xii.  153 

Whiting,  Mr.,  death  of . vol.  xv.  267 

Wild  Hunter  of  Juniata . vol.  xii.  146 

Wilkes  on  the  appointment  of  the  Earl  of  Carlisle . vol.  xiv.  163 

Wilkinson,  General,  interview  with  General  Lee . vol.  xiii.  280 

hastens  to  Sullivan . vol.  xiii.  282 

joins  Washington . vol.  xiii.  285 

takes  a  letter  from  Gates  to  Washington . vol.  xiii.  292 

panders  to  Gates . vol.  xiii.  558 

watches  Burgoyne . vol.  xiv.  566 

at  Burgoyne’s  surrender.  , . .vol.  xiv.  82 


Ir>dex 


623 

dispatch ed  '  j  Gates  to  Congress . vol.  xiv.  57 

relative  to  the  Conway  correspondence..  . vol.  xiv.  112 

correspondence  with  Stirling  on  the  Conway  letter . vol.  xiv.  123 

reconciliation  with  Gates . . . .. . vol.  xiv.  125 

resigns  position  as  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  War . vol.  xiv.  126 

expedition  against  Indians . vol.  xv.  134 

'WlLLARD,  Counselor . . . . . vol.  xii.  440 

Willet,  Lieutenant-colonel  Marinus,  defeats  British  scout¬ 
ing  party . vol.  xiii.  380 

sallies  from  Fort  Schuyler . . . vol.  xiii.  500 

volunteers  to  seek  Schuyler . vol.  xiii.  507 

expedition  against  the  Onondagas . . . vol.  xiv.  235 

Williams,  David,  and  Andre . vol.  xiv.  368 

Williams,  Colonel,  driven  in . vol.  xii.  202 

at  Brooklyn . vol.  xiii.  140 

Williams,  Colonel  James,  takes  the  field . vol.  xiv.  429 

Williams,  Colonel  Otho  H.,  crosses  the  Dan . vol.  xiv.  488 

at  Guilford  Court-house . vol.  xiv.  498 

at  Eutaw  Springs . vol.  xiv.  588 

Williams,  Major,  with  the  artillery . vol.  xiv.  567 

Williamsburg  rejoicings . vol.  xii.  237 

Wills’  Creek . vol.  xii.  99 

Wills,  Major,  killed  in  battle . vol.  xv.  118 

Wilmington  taken  by  the  British .  . vol.  xiv.  480 

Wilson,  James,  member  of  the  Board  of  War  and  Ordnance,  .vol.  xiii.  89 

Wilson,  James,  Judge  of  Supreme  Court . ...vol.  xv.  70 

Wolcott,  Oliver,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury . vol.  xv.  242 

Wolfe,  military  services . vol.  xii.  263 

surprises  Light  House  Point .  vol.  xii.  264 

to  besiege  Quebec . vol.  xii.  287 

debarks  on  the  Isle  of  Orleans . vol.  xii.  288 

crosses  the  St.  Lawrence  and  encamps  below  the  Mont¬ 
morency . vol.  xii.  288 

crosses  the  Montmorency . . . vol.  xii.  289 

illness . vol.  xii.  290 

changes  plan  cf  operations . vol.  xii.  291 

his  healtn . vol.  xii.  291 

Gray’s  Elegy,  anecdote . .....vol.  xii.  292 

descends  the  river . vol.  xii.  292 

takes  possession  of  the  Plains  of  Abraham . vol.  xii.  293 

attacked  by  Montcalm . vol.  xii.  294 

his  last  words  and  death . vol.  xii.  295 

Wooster,  David,  appointed  Brigadier-general . vol.  xii.  427 

before  Quebec . vol.  xiii.  80 

recalled . vol.  xiii.  95 

hastens  to  Danbury . vol.  xiii.  398 

attacks  the  British  rear-guard . vol.  xiii.  400 

death . vol.  xiii.  401 

Writs  of  Assistance . . . vol.  xii.  319 


624 


Si)dex 


Wyoming  Valley,  description  of . . . . . ..vol.  xiii.  213 

expedition  against..... . ......... . .........vol.  xiii.  215 

¥ 

Yankee  Doodle . ........... . ...,,voL  xii.  409 

Y orktown,  situation  of . , . . . vol.  xiv.  568 

invested . . . . . vol,  xiv.  582 

siege  of . . . . . .  .vol.  xiv.  592 

storming  of  the  redoubts . . . voL  xiv.  596 

capitulates . . . * . . . . . vol.  xiv.  601 

terms  of  capitulation . . . . . . vol.  xiv.  602 

effect  of  surrender . . . . . . vol.  xiv.  800 

Young’s  House,  expedition  against . . . vol.  xiv.  209 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


3  0112  004687452 


